Life is a funny thing...just when you think things are going wonderfully, something comes up, and BOOM! Suddenly it feels like the world as we know it is crumbling down. I've been reading a lot of Gay Hendricks lately, and if you haven't read his book on the Big Leap then you totally should. It's definitely worth a read. He talks about the glass ceiling that we hit - the proverbial thermostat that keeps you living within a certain equilibrium.
Well, I have certainly hit my own glass ceiling this week. One of my challenges, ongoing challenges, is my foot. I have a rather unique ability to grow extra bone, and it has been doing it rather dramatically lately. The upshot is that I am going to need surgery to sort it out. How does this relate I hear you ask? Well, I have always been an exercise fanatic - I love it, it fills me with joy - especially when exercise meets dance. Suddenly I can't dance, leap, jump, lunge or a multitude of movements. Once upon a time I would be feeling sorry for me..hid in the corner and waited until the sun came out again.
Part of the evolution of life, is being able to adapt to the challenges that come your way, and view them as learning opportunities. So, in view of that, I have adapted. Rather than focusing on what I can't do, I am looking at what I can do. I can do cardio on the cross-trainer, do weights with some slight tweeks. I can swim, and I can do yoga - with modifications.
I challenge you dear soul, to look at your own life. Where are you hitting your own glass ceiling? What behaviour would that have presented previously? What can you do in the here and now? What can you be grateful for? The sun is truly shining in and through you. Can you feel it?
Namaste xxx
Well hello beautiful souls, it's been a while! We are steadily approaching the half way mark of the very first month of 2016. A nine year. A year of finishing off, tidying up in preparation of...well, anything your heart desires!
For me, this means a focus on health, in all dimensions - emotionally, physically, spiritually, the whole nine yards! I have spent the best part of the last two weeks getting really present to what I want out of 2016 and making a plan on how to get there. Acknowledging all that was in 2015 - the highs, the lows, the inbetweens, and releasing it with love. And now I am ready, to experience the full capacity of life in 2016.
On a more personal note - my physical self needs a bit of assistance from the medical profession. So early 2016 means bone surgery on my foot, which is quite out of control at the moment. Nothing like a challenge, but this too shall pass.
So my question to you is...What do you want from 2016? And what are you doing to make it happen? For example, my mission is to start my day earlier so I can fully honour myself in my day, before the household gets up and rolling. The way I am working towards this, is by each week setting my alarm for 15 minutes earlier, until such time as I have made space for my yoga and meditation practices. Baby steps. Please know dear one, that you don't need to do everything right this very minute, but moving slowly towards your goal IS success. You are moving so much faster than everyone still sitting on the couch, because YOU are moving - in which ever way that presents for you.
Make 2016 count. Honour your spirit, go hard on self-loving yourself baby!!
Namaste xx
Two weeks! It's been two weeks! How on earth did that happen!?!! I'm having a wee breather in amongst the craziness of my sewing machine cranking for presents to talk with you about self care.
We've visited self care before, but it's a timely reminder of the absolute necessity for making time for you! You, the train driver. It's all well and good to fuel the passengers, but if you forget about the driver..well, that train isn't going anywhere!
Beautiful souls, this does not need to be a huge, extravagant, timely exercise. Self-care can occur anywhere, for as long as you are able. It can be as simple as closing your eyes and taking three deep, cleansing breaths..not the shallow breathing we are all used to, but full on belly breaths.
If you have slightly longer, it could be walking outside and planting your bare feet on the grass whilst looking up at the sky..clouds during the day, stars and moon at night, whilst having three plus deep belly breaths.
Got longer still? Try a deep soothing bath, complete with candles, a glass of wine, and perhaps some meditation music. You could even turn it into a complete pamper session, with a face mask, body scrub etc.
Here's the thing. Self-care is important. It isn't selfish, it's self preserving. The more you put into yourself, the more you have to give to others.You are not taking away from others, really, you're not.
Don't have a spare second in your day? Then darling, you need to look at your day. Have your lunch outside, instead of in a stuffy staffroom. Walk to work and have your deep breaths on your way. Trying to get baby to sleep - pop them in the buggy and get moving. Doing something, anything for yourself, priority one!
Only getting 3 hours sleep, then aim for 4. Eight hours sleep can seem like a far away dream with young children, but improving things can be as simple as adding an extra hour, an extra minute. You ARE worth it. Believe it. Say it, yes, but you need to believe it at a soul level. When you truly believe it, you will action it, and you will see the difference it makes. You try having it, then suddenly not having it, and notice what happens. You need this. Life is much more than merely surviving. Igniting your own light is imperative. How do you glow? By loving yourself dear one..like you are the most important person in the world, because you are!!!
Love and light xxx
Hello beautiful souls!
This one comes from the angels themselves..I have had this well known ABBA song rampaging through my head all evening - which for me means that there is something my soul team wants to say.
As much as this song is about a break up, the lyrics strongly support the message of knowing who you are so that you can know others too. What do I mean about knowing you? When someone tells you that it is important to know yourself, it can seem like a huge task - especially if you've had a life of putting everyone else before yourself. You might well be the kind of person that has been so giving in relationships, that you have lost all knowledge of who you are, what you like, and what the special things are that make you you!
And if this is you, you need to know that you are worthy of knowing! You deserve to be recognized and celebrated. You are a miracle, you are magnificent, you matter.
But how do you go about knowing you if you've lost all knowledge of you I hear you ask? Well dearest one, you need to make time for you. You need to spend time with you, finding out what it is that lights you up inside - is it dancing, learning, spending time outside, star gazing? It may in some ways seem like a process of elimination. But do you know what? Every time you cross something off, you are one step closer to finding you. It is no secret that I am very pro meditation, and when I was truly lost from myself, it was like my guiding light back home. What ever it is that makes your heart sing, your soul light up, those are the very things that you need to prioritize.
Enough hiding dear one, you are far too important to be hiding. Your gift to this world is unique, no one else can be you more than you. The world needs you. Be you. Love you. Honour you.
With love xxx
Today, I am not feeling myself..Nothing is wrong per say, but I just have a heavy weight on my being, and I know that it is time to withdraw for a little while.
Part of my pool of gifts is being an empath. If I'm not careful, I take on the world's problems, and the world's energies to the detriment of my own being. Suddenly, I end up feeling like I'm on an episode of the Horders - you know the one? Where people's houses are filled to the brim with all sorts of odds and sods that they have collected along the way, to the point where their houses are so full, that there isn't any room for themselves..not even a spot on the couch to sit on...My skin feels stretched, hot and tight. My emotions are bouncing off the walls and entirely too much.
So I will be detoxing..getting rid of all the baggage I have acquired and strengthening my protection. It's really a "It's not you, it's me" situation. Thing is, if you are anyway sensitive like I am, this will inevitably happen. Even with your protection and cleansing rituals dialed up, even the strongest of wills will crumble. You need to recognize these signs in yourself. Once upon a time I would have soldiered on, dug deep and risked complete breakdown. Experience tells me though, this is not the time to be foolhardy.
Be aware of your intuition dear ones. No one can tell you this but you. Recognize the little niggles, the gut feeling that is telling you that you are approaching your upper threshold. Look for the signs, they are all around you.
Love and light xxx
Do you speak it? Or even hear it? Most of us in this world are so busy being busy in this world, that we speak without commitment and listen without actually hearing. Take a minute to reflect on your day..how often did you actually listen to what someone had to say? How many times did you express what you truly wanted to say?
Now, I'm not saying that we should speak every thought that comes to your mind..a lot of those thoughts could wind us up in a fair amount of trouble. I'm talking about your truth, those parts of you you are hiding for fear of recrimination.
From very early on in our lives, the message of not being good enough is strongly imprinted on our brains - I know it was with me. Somehow I came to strongly believe that I needed to be a super woman - best at everything, doing everything for myself and others. The outcome? Disconnection to my self. Not any time for me, racing around like a lunatic from one thing to another, without even a fleeting thought for myself. Really appealing to be there for others, but at what cost?
I was at one end of the spectrum..but there is another. Those with so much self belief and sense of entitlement that they become the takers to my fellow givers of this world. Some how there needs to be a middle ground. Neither end of the spectrum is serving you very well, and either end of the spectrum is limiting your experience of life.
Speaking and listening is a skill. Being able to get your message across without being unkind, or perceived the wrong way takes effort. And if you are anything like me, you'll be worrying yourself sick when faced with a situation where you need to speak your truth..reveal your true self, the unedited version - not the one you put out there everyday.
And as for listening? Well, that is just as much a skill. There is a difference between hearing and truly listening. When you are truly listening the truth in me honours the truth in you. You listen to not only the message that is being portrayed through words, but you listen to body language also, and connect to the message within your being.
I challenge you to observe how many times you really listen, and speak your truth in a day. Darling soul, you deserve the true connection that truly listening and speaking your truth will bring. Don't hide anymore, let your magnificent light shine free! You are too treasured to be caged and restricted, even when you impose the cage and restrictions. Shine on beautiful one, in every cell of your being.
Xxxx
Today has been a good day... and I have been reflecting on why this is..not in a morbid glass half empty kind of way (which, in all honesty, is how I used to view not only the world, but everything in it), but in a way that is full of gratitude.
Thing is, as I said above this hasn't always been my go to reaction, nor my way of being in my life. For the best part of 39 years, I have fixated on what was wrong, what wasn't good enough, what my failings were, and why I wasn't as good enough. That is one heck of a drain on your energy, your mental capacities, and your soul's ability to radiate light and love at it's fullest potential.
So what changed? Many things. Essentially my higher self had a wee shout in my ear, and said ENOUGH!You've almost lived half your life, the next half deserves some of that happiness action you've been passing around like marshmellows to everyone you meet.
And so it is. Gratitude is an amazing practice, and seriously the best way to wind down your day. But the funny thing is that once you get used to practicing gratitude, it becomes your way of thinking. Like I can smile as I go about my day, and be grateful all the time, even in the little moments. Moments such as my son being a clown, or my husband rubbing my head as he walks past me, or a bird fluttering around my feet whilst I'm hanging out the washing. Every day does not need to be mundane, there are so many moments to be thankful for, and grateful for.
About 20 months ago, I lost my best friend after a courageous battle with brain cancer. I never thought I would ever come out the other side of the grief that overwhelmed me. Look for me in the rainbows she said - and you'd be amazed at how many times, in how many ways I see rainbows in my every day - oftentimes in places where you'd have to wonder how did that get here? She made it until shortly after her 38th birthday. Taken far too soon. She was the best in so many people.
Today there is lightness in my step and my heart as I remember her, and love her still. She never got to be 39 or anymore numbers. Every day is a blessing, with more potential and gifts than you can possibly imagine. Don't waste your days picking apart what coulda, shoulda, woulda.. Choose to turn it around, choose to see the glass half full, choose to fill your heart full of gratitude, and choose to see the potential in every moment, every gesture. Life is for living, completely, radiantly. Every day you spend pulling apart, is one you will never ever get back. Find your joy, find your peace, find your bliss. It's out there waiting for you...go live it with resounding abundance.
Namaste xxx
