Women: Do Christmas with the minimum fuss

The approach to Christmas can be a challenging time. Women are often the main organiser of school costumes for nativities, other social events, presents, and the food preparation for the day. Of course this is on top of normal daily activities. It is not a wonder many women are tense over the pre-Christmas period. Do you recognise the scenario?

However there are things women can do to help themselves. Lets look at some tips for the woman of the house…..

Tip #1  Stay calm – remember that the people coming on Christmas Day are friends and family. The day is not a test, they love you. Everything does not have to be perfect, only you want that.  Do not be afraid to delegate tasks. read more

Silence: does it help calm our brains and give well-being?

Many people do not value silence. I have found it to be comforting, nourishing and cosy.

The noisy world is drowning out our creativity and our inner connection. Noise effects our brains causing elevated levels of stress hormones even when we are sleeping. When I was a busy, working Mum most of my day was with other people and their noise. Being on my own in silence was refreshing.

In 2011, the World Health Organisation (WHO) concluded that the 340 million residents of Western Europe (about the population of the United States), were losing a million years of healthy life every year, due to noise.

Science is now showing that silence may be just what we need to regenerate our exhausted brains and bodies. Two-minute silences are far more relaxing for the brain than relaxing music.

Science has the proof not only that noise hurts, but also that silence heals. Two hours of silence per day prompts cell development in the hippocampus, the brain region related to the formation of memory, involving the senses.

With our digital world, our brains get less time to switch off. The constant demands of modern life are placing a lot of stress on our prefrontal cortex–the part of the brain responsible for making decisions, solving problems and more. When we spend time alone in silence, our brains are able to relax and release this constant focus.

The

ancient spiritual masters have known this all along; silence heals, silence takes us deeply into ourselves, and silence balances the body and mind. read more

Send love to someone you cannot meet

I am learning from giving virtual reiki sessions over WhatsApp in lockdown London, that distance is absolutely no problem for energy. My friends and customers are amazed that it feels the same as when I am in the same room as them.

Love is intelligent energy and has no bounds.

So with this post of the Kyoto Garden in Holland Park, London I am sending my love to my friend Hitomi in Tokyo. Normally she visits us every other year but she has not been able to come due to the virus. Hitomi, we are missing you and hope we can meet again sometime soon.

Try watching this short video and send your love to someone you cannot meet at the moment.

A message of love for a loved one

Soul Map: 7 steps to understanding you and your life

Examples of student soul maps

Need a soul map?

For Alison Wem, that realisation came in the early hours as, newly widowed with children and a demanding job, she confronted her anguish – and found a space of calmness and route to strength, love and guidance.

Follow 7 easy-to-do steps to create your soul map, a route to your ‘inner you’– your sub-conscious mind, higher self or soul, depending on your beliefs.  Gain insight into who you are and where your life is going. Identify who is on this journey with you and how you are helping each other with learning life lessons.

You have already taken the biggest step, which is to find out about your ‘inner you’. You are now just seven simple steps from creating your own soul map, the route back to your ‘inner you’.

You have already taken the biggest step – deciding to find out about your ‘inner you’.

1.  Find a quiet space read more

Hello my spiritual friends

Humanity, of which we are all a part of, is being presented with an opportunity for change – hopefully for the better. Now is a great opportunity for development and healing at the personal, family, community, national and global level.

Yet here we are physically isolated in our homes, unable to share our thoughts, experiences and steer from our own soul or perhaps our guides.

‘Working-from-home’ or not working at all, has slowed the pace of life and given you an opportunity to reflect on what is really important in your life.

Well here goes, let me share my thoughts…..

I am taking sensible precautions with the virus, but I have not felt the fear many are experiencing. I am convinced there is a purpose behind this global pandemic.

I have been given the opportunity to experience fear in the last week. It affected me so much that I could feel my heart beat faster and my breath was fast, short and shallow. I could not stay still and was pacing up and down the hall in my small city flat feeling constrained.

It was not fear of the virus but fear of financial ruin. My income is from rental flats. I have spent the last year renovating them and building a new flat for me in the attic. I have had little income for a year, spent much of my savings and have a large mortgage to service. As we reach completion, we found the builder has made a mistake which he does not acknowledge and Building Control were refusing to issue a certificate enabling me to get some tenants into the flats. I was faced with no cash, empty flats, a builder refusing to take my calls or emails and no resolution until after the lockdown which is who knows when.

Fear is a terrible thing. I realised that even in widowhood I did not experience it. I was well loved and supported by family and friends. It is when you feel you are standing alone that fear is most rampant.

We are constantly bombarded by the media about the coronal virus. There are stories of people dying alone in ICU calling out for their loved ones and families not being able to mourn their lost love ones. For me these stories do not add value but stoke fear and uncertainty. I feel that in all of our interaction with others

hope, healing and change for the better

should be the basis of our conversations. Perhaps if enough of us practise it, it will ripple out to many more people.

My guide is asking me to consider the life lessons my builder is helping me with – defining my boundaries and holding them, communicating with compassion, remaining positive and holding onto hope. All of these are relevant to a locked down world of physical isolation in family units.

Perhaps you can consider what life lessons this new world is helping you to learn…..

8th March 2020