Winter Solstice 2012

The days have been drawing in and today marks the Winter Solstice in Australia.
The shortest day of the year or the longest night and how you view this depends on your mindset.
For me, it marks the beginning of the return to summer and warmth.
I can certainly appreciate the beauty that the winter season brings with the deciduous trees displaying the amazing structure of branches that may have been hidden by foliage, the patterns that ice makes on the windscreen, the first tentative shoots of the spring bulbs in the garden and so on.

This Solstice also has a New Moon associated with it and putting the two together can create some pretty powerful alchemy.
Two turning points!
The New Moon is associated with bringing in new intentions and new energy, so is an ideal time to be writing your next 90 day goals and reviewing your desires.
Take a moment to feel what it is that your heart really desires. Utilize your senses and see, hear and feel what it looks like, sounds like and feels like to have what you desire or wish for. Note whether it is in alignment with your Higher Self – does it feel congruent?
Really capture the feel of your wish or desire. Phrase it positively and make an affirmation, using words that have health, happiness and a sense of ease in them.
What will stand in your way to achieving this? Are there any blocks?
What do you need to let go of and release with gratitude to allow the new energy in? By releasing any negative traits that you may be holding on to, you create a space for new abundance and prosperity to florish.
Now it’s up to you- as well as the Universe – you need to work towards the wish, make it an achievable goal and understand that this is an energetic intention.
You can give your intention a helping hand to release any energetic blocks in your body, by having a Polarity Therapy Massage or a Reiki treatment.

Dreaming

A restless and exhausting night with vivid dreams last night, the kind that stay with you for a while.
The dreams were of a place that seemed familiar yet not, if that makes sense. 
I was on a hillside with large limestone boulders shaped into a retaining wall and the scent of herbs. The air sparkled with the clarity of a summer’s day and there were people busy in the background.  Taking a break from tending the herb garden, I sat on the edge of a retaining wall and my feet brushed against something soft and unfamiliar. 
Looking down, I saw that my foot had made contact with a small swarm of bees who looked to be forming a hive in the spaces between the rocks.  A sudden jolt as I remembered that I am allergic to bees and I quickly took my foot away and moved some distance from them. “ Don’t think fearful thoughts” went through my mind, “as they pick up on that energy” , taking the time to gather myself and calm down. From a distance I observed them moving, protecting their queen, fascinated by the activity and the solidarity of the group.  Then a family member appeared, my mother-in-law, saw the bees and began spraying them.  Horrified, I knocked the can from her hand and felt a pain in my heart as I realized that she intended to kill them and hoped that I could stop her before any died.
I moved away to be alone and for a moment seemed to be on a boat of some kind with green canvas lashed to the railings. I was followed by several people and went round and round some kind of structure in the centre before losing them and finding myself back on the hillside garden. Searching for something elusive, I began turning over the rocks and quickly drew my hand away as a brightly coloured snake’s head poked up and glared at me.  Rooted to the spot, the thought that this was a harlequin snake came to me.  Brightly coloured with yellow, green and orange diamond shapes familiar to a harlequin’s suit adorned this snake. Not sure if it was poisonous, I kept my distance and with my heart pounding again, woke up with an incredibly dry mouth.
I dozed on and off for a little longer and then decided it was time to go for a walk. 

Choosing to walk a different route today and a little less isolated, I found it was quite easy to almost double my walking distance. Head cleared by the exercise, I returned to the car and on getting in, just glanced to my left as I saw a dark shape on my shoulder . As I brushed it off, there was an excruciating pain in my left arm & I realized I had been stung. I pulled up my sleeve & it was this action that caused the sting to come out of my arm almost immediately.  I ran around to the other side of the car to let the bee out and at the same time tipped the contents of my water bottle over my arm. Realizing that I didn’t have anything in the car’s first aid kit that would help, decided to chance it and drive home. “Stay calm….. use the trance state to numb the arm…….” Thoughts just rattled through my head. Every movement sent daggers down to my fingers – that was a good sign that it  was going downward…

Home and unpack the antihistamines, asthma spray and epipen in case they were needed. A dose of homeopathic Apis and an antihistamine and ice on the arm all helped. The throat tightened for a moment, was it fear or was it a reaction? Calm ……..
Another good remedy – a cup of tea and a sit and wait and during the waiting I delved into The Body is a Barometer of the Soul and read a little of Animal Dreaming.
Bee sting:  You have not told yourself that you need to look into yourself, so that you will not repeat what has been happening
Hmm! This message has been coming through in a couple of other ways over the last few days. Funny how the Universe makes sure we get the message!!
The High Priestess and the Fool tarot cards have been popping up for me as well.  The Sacred Pool card from the Enchanted Map Oracle cards has also been present. “….focus on self love and self esteem. We are all works in progress, so a detached self examination made with rigourous honesty is called for now…..”
From Animal Dreaming (Scott Alexander King) comes the information that the Bee is about Potential. “…images of bees once decorated the walls of beehive like tombs. It was believed that Bees were the embodiment of the souls of priestesses who had dedicated their lives to the goddess Aphrodite, whose symbol was a golden honeycomb. ……….Bee literally affording the Midas Touch to those who see the value in organized community, dedicated team work and group vision………if you are birthing a new business, view yourself as the Queen Bee working toward the development of your own hive……Honeycomb is an ancient symbol of the Universal Tapestry. Like a perfectly formed jigsaw puzzle, it demonstrates quite literally how one thing supports the next, with each person, creature and thing ‘slotting in’ in complete harmony with each other.
Snake is about Transmutation. …….
“The ancient Celts saw the Snake as a powerful symbol of fertility…..
While embracing the promise of a new life, the Snake can be seen as a representative of the healing we must accept if we intend to move into the next phase of our life in a complete and fertile way…..
Snake points out that we need to look deep within ourselves and honour those aspects that pose the greatest threat of making us ill. We have to hand them over so that we may see clearly again, allowing us to move forward with confidence and a renewed sense of purpose. 
Snake suggests that we look at our baggage, our burdens and our pain and transmute them into new opportunity, new life and the chance to start our journey over again. She offers us the chance to physically rebirth ourselves by strengthening us emotionally and deepening our relationship with Spirit”

Autumn

In the Southern Hemisphere after an unusual summer, autumn has begun with a series of heavy downpours. Much of country NSW and Victoria have been hit again with flooding for the second year in a row. Small creeks, usually insignificant are now torrents of water and threatening to inundate townships.

Mornings can be grey and misty and as we approach the Vernal Equinox, the length of time between night and day becomes more equal. There is a crispness in the mornings that takes a little getting used to after the warmth of the summer.

As the first of the Autumn Full Moons approach, we can turn our thoughts to manifesting new goals for this season.

These can be goals for improving health and wellbeing, so that the winter months are not spent laid up with colds or flu.

Still thinking of the approaching winter months, plans can be set in place to occupy our minds and to prepare us for a new fresh approach in spring. Take an hour or so to plan the next few months productively.

As you move towards a more introspective mindset, you might want to consider what, if anything has been holding you back. Whilst you are in this meditative state, ask yourself if there is anything that needs to be changed. Is it a habit or an unhelpful memory that can be addressed by accessing your unconscious mind?

How are you going to nurture body, mind and soul?

What gifts are you gathering from this season’s harvest which will nourish you and show you the abundance of the universe?

Transformation

Transformation is a gradual process.
Look back and see how many changes have occurred, and thank yourself for all the steps you have taken. 
Now may be time for a giant leap of faith, or you may be ready for a journey into the unknown.  
Let go of the past, be free to move on.
Renewal of strength and revitalization is upon you. 
Call upon your heart energy to see you through your transformation.”

Treasures from Tikashi

A couple of weeks since the last posting, but the energy exploration has continued with interesting outcomes.

February 9th was the anniversary of my “cardiac event” and on the 13th, the cardiologist gave me the all clear in regard to the surgery having sorted the arrhythmia.
All good!!
Time to start the renovations!
On the 10th I discovered that the knowledge papers for the course I was doing were due in at the end of January, not September as I had thought. For a brief moment, I thought of giving up, a horrible sinking feeling in my core.
Then I reflected back on what I have achieved in the last 3 years and if I do say so myself, I have done pretty well. A Diploma in Clinical Hypnotherapy, 3 Cert 4’s – Training and Assessment, Coaching, Business, starting a business that is congruent with my values and studying for a Diploma in Coaching.

After a phone call to Student Support, and still feeling dreadful, miserable & contracted within, they told  me that if I could get the papers in by the end of February, all would be OK. Overwhelm for  a moment and again the thought to give up. Change the energy of the thoughts and reframe and see the positive in finishing what I started.
A deep breath – review what I have done and discover that there really isn’t much to finish off and I make a plan and decide to get it all done. A few more moments of procrastination and frustration at the syntax of some of the questions – but finally the 5 papers are finished and all posted by the 23rd! Coffee with a fellow student from the same intake who encouraged and inspired me to finish, then off to the Post Office – Registered mail – let go of outcome and get on with life!!

Backtrack to the middle of the month and part of the renovation and release was to experience a couple of Network Chiropractic sessions.

The first session was one to one and I found it really helpful as it enabled me to let go of the tensions around the heart area from the event and the surgery.
The second session was a disaster. Three others in the room and a crying baby and the chiropractor kept asking if I felt the energy when he was working on someone else. Unfortunately – no! I reckon I am reasonably in tune with feeling energy, but this setting didn’t work for me.
Didn’t feel anything much, except a sore back from lying face down and the thought of repeating the process twice weekly didn’t feel right at all. I came away from the session feeling drained and very unsettled as felt that I had absorbed other peoples “stuff”.

A massage later in the week helped to relieve the back tension and the therapist commented on the amount of heat that I had in my back!
The year of energy exploration continues………………

Choice

We all have choices
– as a child these were often made for us, and generally in our best interests, but as an adult, one always has a choice.
Whether we exercise that choice or not is what defines us.
If we are held back by fears from childhood or past experiences, then there comes a time to let these fears go and make life more enjoyable and meaningful.
 William Glasser wrote an excellent book “Choice Theory”, on how to choose the life you want to live and stay close to the people you need.
He writes of how we create our own quality worlds and how we are often reluctant to share these with others as we are afraid that we may be ridiculed or criticized.
We have a choice as to whether we will accept that criticism as valid and constructive or to set it aside.
Making choices means taking responsibility for your actions and allowing learnings to take place from the outcomes.
It is necessary to put aside the past, as our memories are notoriously unreliable.
We often create our memories on perceptions of an event. The unconscious mind can even create a “memory” using the imagination.
Using the imagination in a constructive way, we can then choose to reframe our existing and more painful memories in a positive and helpful way, so that we can take charge of our lives in a purposeful and empowered way.

Life Lessons

I came across a saying at a training I went to recently:

“Are you ripe and rotting or green and growing?”

I would like to think that I am still green and growing, even though chronologically am scooting through the years.

The past 12 months have provided me with some great learning moments and the highs and lows of seeking to bring more balance into my life.

Challenged by new learning systems, particularly self paced study with webinars, and not face to face contact, I managed to achieve a bit over the months.  Difficult to find the balance between the detail that is required for submitting University papers and competency based  questions, I probably over intellectualized each question on the Cert 4 papers that I handed in.

The few face to face trainings that I did attend were quite unlike previous lectures or workshops and high energy and at times I was quite out of my comfort zone. All good though and I came away with new skills that I am putting to use on a daily basis.

Most of the year has been out of my comfort zone and parts of it have been a bit of a blur.

Physically, I was knocked out with a cardiac event – the date is indelibly marked in my mind – Thursday 10th February 2011. Emotionally, I was overwhelmed by the support of a few special people who have held my hand as I mended my heart. Particularly painful was the realization that family were not part of the healing process either at the time of the event or after the surgical ablation in July.

A bit like Humpty Dumpty, I felt like I had fallen off the wall and couldn’t be put back together again, but my “healing team”, consisting of a Homeopath, an Acupuncturist, a Hypnotherapist and a couple of Reiki Masters all worked hard to contribute to my improved health. I will also acknowledge the Cardiologist, in that he sorted out the electrical malfunction. New friends have been made and they may not be aware of the pearls of wisdom that they have given me at different times.

The lessons that clients bring are all part of the journey. It truly is a privilege to work with them and honour their trust as they go into a hypnotic trance. Each session has its special moments and it is quite profound to see the relaxation on their faces when they finish a session. Truly a trance-formation!

So the journey continues, veering down the spiritual road now, having picked up the tools of Reiki and Polarity Therapy  that I had set aside for so many years. Just recently I re-visited the EMF Balancing course that I did (OMG – that was last century!!)  And having picked up these tools, I am meeting and noticing people in my life that are claiming their spirituality, acknowledging the subtle energies of the body and feeling so much better for having them in my life.

The Energy of Women

An exciting morning at the launch of “Women Building Bridges” in Clayton. Sponsored by the Victorian Immigrant & Refugee Women’s Coalition and the City of Monash, it was a great opportunity to meet with women from all walks of life and areas of the world. Dances by women completed the launch  and  networking was done over the lunch catered by the women from the Cook Islands.

So many stories to be told and the room was full of warmth, inclusiveness and a genuine desire by all to reach out hands in friendship and support.

Energy systems

The energy exploration continues…. In the past week or so I have come across Vivaxis, which warranted a look at and a continuation of studying the human energy body.
In many cultures there has been a long and detailed study of the energy systems of the body – particularly in India with Ayurvedic Medicine and China with the energy of the meridians found in Acupuncture.
All of which leads back to where I started, going back to Reiki and Polarity Therapy, both of which I studied and now use on a daily basis.
Part of the daily practice in this year of energy exploration has been the use of the zen chi machine and I am now combining that time with listening to hypnotic recordings. Gradual changes in my personal energy are being noticed and I feel more centred and clear.

Beauty in imperfection

The Japanese enjoy the concept of beauty in imperfection and on Day 12 of the energy exploration year, as I made my way downstairs to feed the dog, I noticed a largish butterfly resting on the pool cover.
A closer inspection was made and a series of photos taken and I discovered that this beautiful creature had one of it’s lower wings missing. Not sure if it had not yet unfurled or had been removed by a bird, I decided to leave the butterfly where it was.
Later that morning it had gone – I checked under the pool cover but it wasn’t in the water, so I assume it flew away.
The opportunity to record it’s presence also reminded me of being present in the here and now, to be aware of the little things in life that present themselves to us, to remind us of our own impermanence.

Meditation, mandalas and mindset

Day 10 of the exploration of energy.
The morning session on the zen chi machine seems to be getting shorter as I get used to it.
I can feel my lower back loosening up and some of the time is used for arm stretches, which also seems to help in loosening up the spine and in meditating.
Today the colours of meditation were greens and yellows.
Another warm Melbourne day and  the intention was set to use the emWave on arrival at the office – seems like I am becoming a bit of an energy junkie!!
However, I attended to a couple of phone messages first and then to writing down the workshop and  information evening dates as well as preparing the flyers for the events.
In the process of looking over the Meditation manual, I came across this Mandala and decided to do another New Moon meditation whilst contemplating it.
No matter that the New Moon was yesterday, the waxing energy is still there.
Writing down my goals for the next month and what inner resources that I have to achieve them, I found that I was focusing more and more on the lotus petals and coloured them in.
Each petal now represented a goal and the energy of the Mandala changed. In fact, it changed with each new colour that was added – as I was using the colours of the chakras, took the opportunity to use the meditation as a clearing process.
Completing the meditation felt great, there was greater clarity and a really wonderful way to set goals.