The silence of the morning,
Broken only by the hum of the refrigerator,
The whirling of the fan,
The chirping of the birds on the big tree outside.Continue reading
The Word: 2018
My word of the year generally makes itself known to me around the end of November or start of December. This year, it was much harder to tease it out. There were a lot of thoughts swirling around in my head, and I reached November feeling pretty battered and bruised.
Illuminate proved to be a lot more intense that I had anticipated, and I knew that I needed to really absorb and live the big lessons I learnt, to stand more fully in my power, to reclaim my sovereignty. I felt the need, too, to step up and show up – there are so many ways in which I still hold myself back, allowing my inner critic, Prissy Missy, to have full reign over deciding what I can and cannot do.Continue reading
2017: Looking back at Illuminate
Illuminate. That was my word for the year.
Seems so benign and uplifting, doesn’t it? To illuminate the darkness within, to speak my truth, to shine my light while being firmly rooted in my own personal power.
And yet, this is not an easy path to follow – Illuminate shook up my world, broke me open and put me back together again. Where 2016 was about outward growth and manifestation, 2017 was about inward illumination and expansion.Continue reading
Magnify your intention with a word of the year
One of my absolute favorite things to do in December is to start planning for next year. Pen and paper, a hot cup of black coffee and some soft music set the scene, while I sit wrapped up in a quilt, reflecting on the year gone by and planning for the coming year.
But it wasn’t always so
There have been years – more than I care to count – when the change of the year was met with a dreary ho-hum, couldn’t care less attitude. Years when I broke my resolutions within days if not months…years when nothing seemed to happen…nothing seemed to change.It all changed when I stumbled upon the concept of intentions and choosing a focus word of the year. To be sure, it wasn’t a dramatic, sudden change. It took some time for me to work out how having a word of the year works, and even longer to understand how intentions work. But work they do – sometimes in ways we didn’t even expect!Continue reading
Journey of a Seeker: the difference between knowledge and wisdom
My journey into spirituality started with books – and if memory serves me right, the one that started it all was Conversations with God by Neal Donald Walsh. While I have returned to those pages many times over the years, there have, of course, been numerous books along the way – ranging from Doreen Virtue’s angel books to Deepak Chopra’s Seven Spiritual Laws of Success and the Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. Interspersed with these more spiritual, esoteric and woo-woo tomes have been books on philosophy and psychotherapy – ranging from Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, Ursula K. Guin’s magnificent translation of Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching, and Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning.Continue reading
The symbology of the cocoon and the butterfly
Have you ever noticed a particular sign or symbol stalking you – just waiting for you to understand its message?
These two symbols – the cocoon and the butterfly – have been everywhere recently. They pop up when I meditate, come up in random image searches, even in other people’s branding! And while I think I know what they are telling me, I also know that they are a powerful symbol for the collective, because they tie in so well with the theme of October’s Tarot reading.
Continue reading#TheMindfulBreak 2017: We start on Sunday!
Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way; on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally. – Jon Kabat-Zinn
This quote sums up the very essence of what a mindfulness practice is all about – to be present, without judgement, completely focused on the current moment without any attachment to our thoughts, to the past or the future.
Often, our stress and overwhelm arises from an overactive mind – we juggle roles and responsibilities with an eye to the tasks that we have to accomplish during the day and berating ourselves for all that we let slip.
But if we can just remember to stop….breathe….focus on the present moment, on the current task without future projecting and past analyzing, our worries and stress can simply melt away. Continue reading
The Mindful Break 2017
The Mindful Break returns! As my stress levels rise, I find that I need to slow down…to remember that I need a bit of a daily break. A reminder to myself to just breathe.
This is how The Mindful Break was born last year – it was a fun ride, and I was joined by a lot of other lovely peeps who enjoyed it too. And so, it returns again this year.
Journey of a Seeker: What is the meaning of life?
We are all on a journey through this roller coaster that we call life. We all try to understand it as best as we can. Some of us turn to scriptures to find the meaning of life, others to philosophy, and still others to spirituality. And then there are the rationalists, who believe that life is simply a string of random – or logical – events and then you die.
There is no one answer to describe this journey – there rarely is. There is the answer that resonates with you.
Seeking Inspiration: For the times when you have no words
It’s surprising, how you sometimes have nothing much to say.
It’s even more surprising – and unnerving – when this happens after a period of intense creativity.
But there’s a reason for the quiet…for the lack of words…the lethargy in the drive…the dip in the zest.
After every creative high comes a creative low. It’s simply a time to recuperate, to gather up seeds of inspiration once again, to go down the rabbit hole as you follow your curiosity so you can come back again, filled with wonder and words and delight and magic.