Donations to the Cause / Love Offerings

Once again in my recovery, I have come to a place where I need to work the third step by surrendering to my need to ask for help from the Universe and all you Magnificent Spiritual Beings on my mailing list. In my last message to my Yahoo e-mailing group I mentioned that I might once again have to ask for help in getting Codependence: The Dance of Wounded Souls reprinted.

"It is possible that I may need to ask the people on my mailing list for help in keeping the book in print again - something I really don't want to have to do. I have enough books to last into September probably." Joy_2_Me_U emailing list on Yahoo July 20, 2008 "Birthdays - bah humbug"

I first placed a Help page on my site in January of 2003 - very reluctantly, and for what I thought was only going to be for a short period of time. Each time I have had to ask for help, it has been with great reluctance and ego resistance - having to fight against the ego / critical parent messages that asking for help makes me a loser and a failure. Later in 2003, when I was desperate to keep my book in print, I posted another page on which I discussed the importance of being open to receive and how my Spiritual Path had required me to learn that in opening up to receive I was actually giving others a chance to give / to contribute / to connect themselves energetically and Karmically to the Truth of the message of Joy and Love that is the essence of Codependence: The Dance of Wounded Souls.

"In August of 2003 I posted this page as a way of working the third step and sending a request out into the Universe for help in keeping my book Codependence: The Dance of Wounded Souls in print. . . . It has been miracles that allowed me to publish my book and to keep it in print - and this was one more time when The Universe miraculously manifested the support I needed to continue my work. . . . . If you haven't read this page I do think you will find it interesting in regard to the history of Codependence: The Dance of Wounded Souls and the discussion of the metaphysical laws of giving and receiving. I am very, very grateful for the Love Offerings that have made it possible to keep my book in print. ~ Robert 12/5/03" - Metaphysical Law: Giving and Receiving Donations to the Cause / Love Offerings / Spiritual Tithes

As I mention on that page, the reason I make so much information available on my web site for free is that carrying the message is my mission - is me doing what I need to do for my recovery and Spiritual Path. "In freely giving Love I not only open to Love flowing into my life, but I am also manifesting Love into the Collective Consciousness and reminding you of the Truth of who you really are. The more of you that remember who you Truly are and open up to Love flowing into your life, the closer we get to the Hundredth Monkey Effect that will bring about critical mass in the energy field of Collective Human Intellectual Consciousness and allow us to escape from the polarized thinking that has kept human beings warring on each other for thousands of years." And that "The reward is in the quality of my life on a day to day basis - in the ability to have peace within, to access Joy and Love in my day to day life - not in any material or financial or physical reward."

As part of this appeal, I am adding a story from my Joy2MeU Journal that tells the story of the miracles that led to the publishing of Codependence: The Dance of Wounded Souls. As is mentioned in the quote above, the Giving and Receiving page contains a short version of the publication of The Dance, but this is the long version complete with the details of how I was lead to write it and the miraculous journey that resulted in it's publication. It is actually an excerpt from two installments of the story of my Spiritual Path / Recovery that I share in the Joy2MeU Journal - a series I call The Path of one Recovering Codependent ~ the dance of one wounded soul. This page that I have added to Joy2MeU.com has the same title as those two installments: Leap of Faith ~ Publishing The Dance (The Joy2MeU Journal contains probably a million words of my writing - many of those words telling the story of my Spiritual Path and 43 installments of my personal processing journal from 1999 through 2004 - Journal Contents page.)

The situation right now is that I have around 100 books left of the reprint of 3150 that I did in February of 2007. Someone who recently read the book has made me a loan to cover the one half up front cost that it takes to get the printing process started. That $1800 (that I will be paying back with interest over the next year) is enough for half the cost of a print run of 2000 books. Susan, my significant other and partner, has a real estate deal that should close escrow at the end of the month - and should provide us with the money to pay the other $1800. What I need now is funds to increase the print run. It costs $3600 to print 2000 books, but only another $1400 to increase it to 5000 books. What I want very much right now is to increase that print run because I believe that my sales are going to greatly increase in the coming year. There are several reasons for that belief. One is that within a few weeks we are about to announce the launching of 10 new web sites (up to date and modern, not "1996 looking" as someone recently remarked about my site - and not so confusing to navigate;-) that will include a downloadable version of the digitally remastered audio version of the book, as well as making The Dance available in e-book form for the first time. I will be sending out my Update Newsletter in a new format announcing some very exciting events and changes in the coming months. (These new sites and other changes are coming from a partnership with Jeff Sohler - whom I note on the CD page is the man who made the CDs of The Dance possible. He is investing heavily in being in partnership with me and creating these changes - which is great since I haven't had the money to do any of these things - and he is doing it because he passionately believes in my work and wants to help spread the message to a larger audience.) There is also a possibility that The Dance could be picked up by some of the major chain book stores - an opportunity that could be lost if I do not have enough books printed to fill their orders.

For anyone who is wondering where all the money for the 3050 books that have already been sold has gone - believe me, it isn't nearly as much money as you might think. Last year - 2007 - I sold 1868 books (normal recently: in 2005 I sold 1871, 2006 the total was 1891.) Of those, 1266 were sold wholesale (Amazon.com, New Leaf National Distributors (sells to book stores) and individual sales to book stores) for an average price of $6.99 per book. The average price of the 602 books I sold retail (mostly through my web site) was $13.34. So, that income goes quickly to normal operating expenses for keeping the web site going, shipping and packaging of orders, numerous other office and business expenses.

One of the constants in the almost 10 1/2 years that I have had a web site (9 1/2 for Joy2MeU.com) has been the testimonials that have poured in from people thanking me for how their lives have changed - many saying I had saved their life - because of my book and web site. If just 20% of the 348 people - who have taken the time to let me know how much my writing has helped them since I last asked for help in January 2007 - would donate $20, I would have the $1400 I need. If those of you who have donated before feel moved by your Spirit to donate again, that would be incredibly wonderful.;-) (I would love to not only get the $1400 but also the money to pay the loan back.)

So, that is what I am asking - for your help in increasing this print run for Codependence: The Dance of Wounded Souls. It is an opportunity for you to align Karmically and energetically with the message of my book; to Spiritually Tithe if my writing has helped you get more in touch with your own Spirit; to send back some Love my way if my writing has helped you to open up to being more Loving to yourself. As I say on the Metaphysical Law: Giving and Receiving page: "I Know that giving is an act of Love, is Honoring my True Self. Opening to receive is also an Act of Love. Asking for help and allowing someone else to give to me, is giving them the gift of allowing them to Honor and demonstrate Love for their True Self - and for the Truth that we are all ONE."

As I say at the end of Codependence: The Dance of Wounded Souls:

This is the Age of Healing and Joy. It is time to start remembering who you Truly are, to start feeling and tuning into the Truth which exists within you.

We are all butterflies. We are all swans. We are Spiritual Beings.

The Springtime of the Spirit has arrived: It is possible to learn to Love yourself.

It is possible to be happy, Joyous, and free - if you are willing to be scared and hurt, angry and sad.

You are Lovable. You are Loved. You are LOVE.

Thank you in advance for the Love that you choose to send my way.:-) Robert August 14, 2008
PS The new page (quite a long one of course;-) is Leap of Faith ~ Publishing The Dance

August 26th, 2008 We are still a little over $400 short of the goal.

September 9, 2008 There is good news and not so good news. The good news is that last week 5250 copies of the latest reprint of my book were delivered. The not so good news is that the Printing Plant went ahead with the final print run without notifying me that they had started - there was a point when I was supposed to tell them how many I actually wanted instead of how many I had hoped to print. Because I hadn't raised as much in donations as I had hoped, and Susan's deal didn't net her as much as we expected, I was going to decrease the print run by a third or more. Unfortunately I didn't get that opportunity, so now am in a severe financial crunch. Any help anyone could send our way would be greatly appreciated.

Donations to the Cause / Love Offerings / Spiritual Tithes

There is another page that I originally posted in January 2003, and then later added an appeal to help keep my book in print in January 2006. On that page - titled simply Help - I talked about working the 3rd step by being willing to ask for help.

In 2007, I again was given the opportunity to have the humility to ask for help - that page is entitled Help_2007.