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Publishing from the Heart
Massage Therapist Returns to Writing and Brings Relief to Computer Users
Gini Maddocks is one of those people who really enjoy helping other people. Sheís about to publish her first book, entitled R&R: Rescue and Relief for Computer Users, and she plans to reach large numbers of people with her message: ìUnderstanding and a little guidance about the repetitive motion problem can go a long way to alleviate unnecessary pain that so many computer users suffer today.îìWhy be miserable for so many hoursóif you can feel better?î she asks. ìWhat is not to gain by adding a stretch to your movements as you go? Pain erodes energy. Low energy is a menace to the lifestyles we all desire. Pain and low energy create poor attitudes. We are a society within a world that desperately needs a better attitude.î
Maddocks knows what itís like to suffer pain and disappointment. Sheís had her share of physical problems ñ starting with polio at age two.
ìI grew up feeling ëdifferentíó- and being overweight had its own crippling effects. Luckily, I had the ëmother of mothers,í who kept telling me that I was so beautiful,î says Maddocks, now 51. ìThat was my first lesson in ëmind over matter.í She always made things an adventure -- even going to get fitted for leg braces. She told me to ëlive my life,í and because she told me so, I believed anything was possible. She was proud that I was a ëflower child.í She loved my hats and bell bottoms.î
As a teenager she wrote love poems (one was published in two national anthologies), served as yearbook editor, and played reporter for the school paper. When she went away to a conservative college in Kentucky and felt trapped, she stirred up the sleepy campus by organizing a ìsit outî for freshman women who were the only ones to have curfews.
Maddocks studied Sociology and set about to save the world as a waitress in Florida. She got married and lived in Mississippi and Maine, where her only daughter was ìhome born.î At age 38 she contracted breast cancer -- and dealt with the depression and struggle necessary to maintain a positive attitude. She worked her way back to health and found a way to help others as a massage therapist ñ- receiving certification in three States -- and has been practicing for 22 years.
Now sheís on a mission to share her techniques and concepts with a broader audience by writing and publishing R&R. She also maintains www.HolisticMatters.net, a website loaded with advice on all things, well, holistic.
ìI have worked incredibly long hours, gathering information and learning so much that is new and foreignówhile keeping up my full time massage practice. And yet, I feel that I have more energy now than any other time of my life. I have discovered a new loveÖand found that I love writing more than anything that I have done so far.î
ìWorking with Repetitive Motion Injuries as a massage therapist has taught me how important it is to identify the behavior promoting the injuryóand how simple it can be to prevent or relieve it,î says Maddocks. ìThe ëself-careî aspect arises from the necessity of intermittent and frequent treatment. Repetitive motion requires repetitive antidote.î Not surprising, considering the fast-paced, computer-driven business and communication styles most of us are involved in today. Maddocks says there are ways to increase our energy levels and relieve dysfunctional pain without adding more stress or taking too much time.
ìMassage has been a way for me to share what I have learned through my own physical and mental struggles. Those experiences allow me to ëtalk the languageí with my clientsóand my market is full of people who can relate. I know it is possible to ëget betterí -- and I know what it takes. This book is my way of saying just that to more people. I want to be the impetus that sparks the desire to do what it takes to feel better.ì
Besides R&R: Rescue and Relief the book; thereís software in the offing; sheíll conduct workshops and seminars to get the ball rolling; and her website is ìholisticallyî educational, motivational and promotional (soon-that is next to be updated with products). Maddocks wonders whether she could have managed such a project at an earlier age. ìIt helps that I finally feel ëold enoughí not to feel embarrassed by asking questions. 50 years is long enough to have ëearned my wings.í Being older has given me a confidence that I didnít have before. Funny as it seems, the Internet has made me realize that the world is very accessible. Much has to with ëallowing possibilityíóand having enough desire to fuel the action it takes to do something like this project.î
Maddocks admits that part of what inspired her ìself careî philosophy is that her own computer desk is far from being ìergonomically correctî ñ itís closer to ìfeng shui efficient.î (She sits facing the front door in the dining room/meeting room area of her quaint but small Victorian apartment. Her motherís piano is at her back and MoJo the 16-pound beige cat is often on her lap.
Her techniques are born from her own personal adaptations to life, and in her workshops she teaches what she herself needs to learn. For example, here are some principles she teaches in the book and workshops ñ and that she also used to get her book written and published:
The Healthy Habit Technique
Step 1: Attend I identified my goal. MY desire was to project what I ìpracticed and preachedî in the massage arena -ó and the techniques that I put together while using my own computer.
Step 2: Intend I chose to have hypnotherapy to prepare myself for the onslaught. I had an inkling that I needed to focus like never before. We worked upon optimizing my mental facultiesósuch as memory, cognition, and how to stay centered enough to receive and recognize the Truth of my PathÖso I would know what to do in this ìuncharted territoryî.
Meditation and inspiration have everything to do with how I manage my lifeóso it is intrinsic in the steps I took and continue to take. It seems obvious to me that I am guided through this process. I remind myself constantly throughout the dayóto remain open to inspiration, intuition and to recognize opportunities as they present themselves. Doing massage constantly helps to keep me in a ìsacred spaceî. I am big on ìimagining possibilities.î
Step 3: Pretend Intention when backed up with ìknowingnessî or faithóleads to manifestation. The feeling becomes reinforced with practice. This is the affirmation workingópositive thinking works on this principle. It is the ìpractice until it happensî mode.
Step 4:Depend ìKeep the faithî without the effort of discipline because of the ìassured feelingîÖ no room for doubtójust the feeling that ìit is as it should be.î At this point it is self-rewarding, which replenishesórather than depletesóEnergy.
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Had she known what was really involved in writing, publishing and marketing a book, Maddocks says she probably would have been intimidated. ìMy attitude has beenóëwhat have I got to lose?í Instead of feeling time as a ëcrunch,í I feel I have a certain amount of time left on this Earth, and I might as well see what I can do. Having survived breast cancer probably influenced that attitude.î
ìI wanted to see if I could be spiritual and successful in the business world at the same time. It feels like I am stepping into a river that is already rushing to its destinationóI want to negotiate the current and stay on top. As I approach marketing, I am using the same philosophy. I am using both right and left brain thinking. I remain open to suggestionsómake a move that feels right--and see where that takes me. When something presents itself to me more than once, I investigate it further, remembering how timing and coincidences are something I can count on.
Some target markets for her book include university office personnel, corporations with wellness programs, ergonomics experts, Home Shopping networks, and retail (bookstores, specialty stores, book clubs, etc.). Sheíll market via the Internet, through her workshops in wellness centers, with magazine ads and articles, and by networking with appropriate groups and a few well-placed contacts.
ìI donít really believe in failure. I know that somehow I will pay back the money and time invested ó no matter what. That is all that I feel I am risking. The rest is soul-stuff and life lessons ó so thereís no chance of failure there.î
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R&R: Rescue and Relief for Computer Users
$21.95ÝÝ ISBN: 0-9714407-0-0
Contact gini@holisticmatters.net or call 1.866.691.6115