The Alchemist

Published by alisoneholloway7@gmail.com on

A fable about following your dream

 

First published in 1988, this book arrived in my life in June 2016 as a pointer that I needed to follow my dream and life purpose.  I was attending a self-development management course in the beautiful and enchanting place of El Escorial, where the kings of Spain go to be buried.  Over the weekend I read this book and just could not put it down.  Its messages of hope, following your dreams and inspiration fully matched the location I was reading it in.

“It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.”
― Paulo Coelho

It is the story of a shepherd boy from the Spanish province of Andalusia who dreams of travelling the world in search of a treasure as desirable as any ever found.  The boy starts out as a goat herder in what sounds like Almeria, my favourite retreat from the bustles of the world.  It is a beautiful place in Spain with the most wonderful sunsets and thankfully a place overlooked by most people.  The boy first goes to North Africa where he is cheated out of his money and has to work for a crystal merchant to be able to continue his journey.  He joins a caravan and travels into the Egyptian desert where he has a fateful encounter with the alchemist.

“And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”
― Paulo Coelho?

This is a book to be treasured as you will want to read and re-read it.  It is not very often I say that about a novel!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0722532938/ref=rdr_ext_tmb

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Life Lessons

How do I lead a soulful life?

There are always those things you feel you should get done but know in your heart you never will. Perhaps you agreed to arrange to meet someone you are not very keen on or its to clean out those dreaded items at the back of the wardrobe.

But what about those things that you know are important but can’t seem to get done?

How many times have you made a definite decision to do something?

There is no doubt – you are determined. Yet nothing happens. Why not?

Is your heart in agreement with your head?

You receive the promptings from your soul in your heart. Your soul encourages you to steer your life in the direction of your soul’s purpose. Time and energy spent on more mundane things in your life are of less interest to your soul.

Of course, you have the free will to listen to the promptings from your heart or to do the logical things which you want and need to do. We are all human, so there are basic things you need to do to live, such as provide a home and put food on the table. The Universe understands this, but is perhaps less excited by them.

Like many things, it is a case of balance.

You need time to be human, but you also need time to be with your soul and follow your soul’s purpose.

When you and your soul are aligned, you are at your most productive. Things just happen. What seemed impossible becomes possible. Doors seem to open and you are in the flow of life.

My experience is to be discerning on how you distribute your time and energy to tasks. Try giving a balanced amount to the human things you need to do and those that bring you joy, excitement and fun or help you along your spiritual path. If you become totally immersed in the former, there is no time left for the latter. It really is about you choosing your own priorities and consciously living your life as you want to. So many people are allowing themselves to be pulled in different directions by other people. The goal is to learn to;

Integrate soulful activities into your everyday life.

This is not as arduous as it sounds. Promptings from the heart are often about human behaviour. It may be as simple as saying thankful or helping someone who needs it.

When you feel in your heart something is right – this is the thing to do.

Conscious Mind

Does your intuition really give good guidance?

Intuition has been recognised over the ages as a ‘gut feeling’ which lets you know if something is not right. Intuition can be much more than an alert mechanism. For me it is a beacon which you can use to listen to messages of guidance from your soul, guide and spirit. It works two ways, so you can ask questions too. Over time you will learn to distinguish the different feel of you soul, guide and spirit so you will know who you are talking to.

How do I feel my intuition?

The messages are not usually in words. They come more as a sensing or knowing. You may also start to see situations or people through your mind’s eye. When I was first training as a medium, I used to look at people with human eyes. But as I learnt to use all of my senses, I started to use my mind’s eye which is the 3rd eye chakra between your brows. It can look more deeply and give you more insight into what is happening in your life. My 3rd eye then connected with my heart and I could feel in my heart what was right. This is why when you ‘speak from your heart’ people hear the truth and authenticity of what you are saying. If you look at public speakers when this moment arrives, without realising it, they often put their hand on their heart.

We all have intuition but somehow over history we have supressed the use of it. It’s a good resource and gives good advice so why not make use of it. The more you use it, the easier it becomes.

What can I use my intuition for?

You don’t need to reserve it for those most challenging times. You can use it for everyday decisions and living. I’ve used it to find lost reading glasses, deciding on how long to set the microwave for individual dishes, knowing where someone has gone and many other everyday situations.

How reliable is the advice from my intuition?

Can you be sure you have received the message correctly? If you are not sure, put it to one side and try listening again another day. If the message is the same, you have probably heard it correctly. It takes time to build up confidence in the messages so you can trust them. Try it out on small things in your life first to enable the trust to build. Even in a busy environment, you can take three deep breaths and go to that quiet place inside. Here is the easiest space to ask a question and to feel the reply. The more you practice and observe, the more you will tap into a deep knowledge and wisdom.

Can I use it at work as well as at home?

You take yourself everywhere you go – so yes! Intuition is more objective and wiser than your normal self. It is full of compassion and love for you. It is never cross, critical or impatient with you. If you receive messages like this, it is your ego talking so don’t listen to it. Of course, in all of this don’t cut your brain off. Still consider a situation with your logical brain for the positives and negatives of it. But then let go and ask your intuition what it thinks. I have seen a Marketing Director in a FTSE100 company listen to the facts of a project, then put his hand on his heart and listen to his intuition. He was a successful man.

Using your intuition effectively takes practice. The more you use it, the more comfortable you will feel about it. Here is a good way of practicing;

  1. Close your eyes and focus on your heart.
  2. Take 3 deep breaths
  3. Think of someone or something that you love.
  4. Think of something you want help with in your life – it could be on a job, health, where to live….
  5. Ask 3 questions;

What do I want to know now?

What can I do to help myself?

        Ask a question that is most important in your life now

  1. Take a deep breath and say thank you
  2. Open your eyes.

Good luck with connecting with your intuition. If you have questions or need more advice, send me a text +44 7966 137568 I will be happy to advise.

Emotions

How do I move forward after great loss?

Loss comes in many forms. A sense of loss is felt when you no longer have a person you love in your life or something such as a job, business or a home. The cause of the loss is varied such as death, a breakup, redundancy, a failed mortgage, but the outcome, a horrible feeling that strikes right at your heart, is the same.

For me loss and fear feel very similar. I lost my husband through an unexpected death in my 40s and experienced real fear from a very public failure of a business project I was leading in my 50s. Both had an enormous impact on my life and my security.

Loss and fear strike right at your heart as if someone has stabbed you.

How do you recover from such a strong emotion it affects you physically? You can’t make the loss go away. It is what it is.

Allow yourself to feel the pain and then let it go. It is not healthy to hold onto the pain as it will ultimately affect your body. In many cultures, it is encouraged to wail – a loud cry of pain, grief, or anger. All of these emotions come with loss and get muddled up together. Wailing is part of the process of letting go. In western cultures, it is not so condoned in modern times. But you can wail in private.

After my husband died, I use to wail in my bathroom late at night with a towel stuffed in my mouth so my children couldn’t hear me.

I needed the release of letting the pain out. Visualise your pain coming out of your body and floating away on a little white cloud. Give it to Mother Earth to deal with so nobody else absorbs your pain.

To help you get up in the morning and put one foot in front of the other – don’t look too far ahead. Take each day as it comes and deal with it. Just getting through the day is an achievement. You should congratulate yourself and not allow your thoughts to go around in your head with – what if?

Know that in time you will feel calmer.

Despite how you feel, the old adage time is a great healer is true. Only then is it right to consider a longer time horizon and what you might like to do next. It is alright to take your time. It is your life and everybody grieves the loss of something at their own pace.

Once you feel calmer, it will be easier to connect with your soul through your intuition. Your soul will help to comfort and heal you. It will give you good guidance.

Try to listen to your intuition and feel your guidance.