Mental Health Mantra 39/365

Trust. 

One short word with 5 letters.  

With a very big meaning. 

The practice for me to Trust. 

Trust.

Keep trusting and keep shining your wonderful light and connecting to your intuitive intelligence.

'Art with Heart - Calm your Mind, Soothe your Soul.'

Mental Health Mantra 38/365

Crying is OK.

This kept coming up for me this week, there have been lots of tears and letting go.

My Dad has been tested positive for Covid and is now on his 6th day of isolation in his room -  extremely hard for an elderly person who has vascular dementia and doesn't quite understand why they can't sit with their friends.  Today he's very sleepy and lethargic. I hope his immune system is forming a response - he is a tough cookie.

Crying is OK.

It's okay to cry and sob for people who have passed. 

The wave hits, it's okay to let the sob move through you.

I sat and watched a memorial service last night of a wonderful woman in our community who suddenly and devastatingly passed away aged 63 a week ago, leaving her husband, 7 children and 17 grandchildren. She was a humorous and kind hearted soul, her community meant the world to her, as did all her family.  I knew her via one of my oldest school friends and the family connection.  The service was incredibly moving, with speeches given by her children and brothers. I sobbed my way through it.

Feeling the feelings of loss and letting it move through me.

Loss and what that means to me, with losing my Mum and all that's happening in the country and the world. 

Crying is Ok.

Crying is energy in motion - why it's called e-motion.

Today's Mental Health Mantra is a reminder that it's ok to cry. 

What I know as a holistic counsellor and spiritual life coach, if it feels more support is needed, reaching out and seeking help is a strength,  releasing and talking about what's behind the tears is crucial so that these tears and sadness don't remain in the body where it generates stagnated energy and can cause dis-ease and inflammation.

We can cry and be strong all at the same time.
​ 

'Art with Heart - Calm your Mind, Soothe your Soul.'

Mental Health Mantra 37/365

Take a deep breath : a phrase my Mum used often. 

This week there have been quite a few deep breaths taken.   

This weekend more than usual.

My Dad tested positive for Covid, we found out on Wednesday morning.  He was isolated in his bedroom.  There were 2 positives in the residential home he is in, they then retested him and others two days in a row to double check and I got the call late last night to say that he had tested positive again, although with no symptoms, he is going to have to remain in isolation. He has now done 4 days. I think it's 10 days with a test at the end that has to be negative.

Out of 20 residents 9 have tested positive. 

Dad's specific unit within the residential home had no covid deaths last year.  

Four weeks after having the Pfizer vaccine 50% of the unit have tested positive.

They should have had the second follow up dose a week ago but that has been extended to "I don't know when o'clock."

Dad, a 91 year old man with vascular dementia, not easy at all. I have spoken to him today and he's fed up. The team there are amazing and doing their upmost to care for our family members. 

I am taking a deep breath. 

On the flip side to all of this and to calm my mind, I enjoyed doing this watercolour today - I'll use that word again, it was hypnotic. 

I wasn't sure whether to leave it without inking but I just can't help myself. 

'Art with Heart - Calm your Mind Soothe your Soul.'

Mental Health Mantra 36/365

I sat down at my table today to put brush to water to paper. I was feeling very discombobulated. 

I could hear my mind tell my self that I was stupid to even begin to commit to this 365 days practice, being just in the 5th day of February and number 35 painting, I sensed that this was going to really challenge my Head Self, (think of Headmistress) to encourage me to keep going.

I heard lots of negatives, I heard lots of what's the points and who cares? 

I felt I was stumbling and bumbling through.

Then I remembered the day was Feb 5th, the day when my Grandpa Jules passed away in 1960, 8 years before I came along, I was named after him, His names was Julius. He was a tailor, he was also a sign writer.

Despite never knowing him physically, I have always felt very connected to him because my Mum, his daughter Sheila, kept his energy going, She would tell me funny stories, isms, and things they did together. 

I then heard this in my forebrain.

Let go of the outcome Jules.

I stepped away from my table and went to go something less boring instead, *playing ball with the dogs* and when I returned a few hours later, I saw something in this image. 

Some strange kind of flower seed pods, I picked up my pens and began outlining, ink and dipping pen, and some Signo markers, *lovethem.

I am 'a pen person,' no denying it. I am surrounded. They are abundant in my life. They are always involved somewhere along the way, so sticking with watercolour with no other pen medium is unlikely during my #365creativedays.

I thoroughly enjoyed doing this - it was deeply meditative. It calmed my mind and soothed my soul.

I was pondering as I painted about seeds and how we don't tell the seed off for not doing things quickly or perfect, we go and check on the seed and say 'well done seed for doing your best at reaching the surface.' We are happy to see the seed is growing and moving towards the light. 

It then all came together for me. It's kinda abstract but something in it just says..... 

Let go of the outcome. 

This has other connections to me right now on a personal and professional level. 

Maybe to you too?

Let go of the outcome. 
Let go of attachment. 
Let go and Let flow.

It  is SO IMPORTANT to FEEL right now.

Keep feeling, keep connecting to that intuitive intelligence.

'Art with Heart - Calm your Mind, Soothe your Soul.'

Mental Health Mantra 35/365

I sold my Mum and Dad’s car yesterday.  I was really happy to sell it to a Care Home Manager. Relieved to see it go to a good home mixed with tearful to see it go. 

The sale had been speedy. Not much time for lingering thoughts.  

Later in the day, I stepped into colour and water, I could feel the feelings of it all, the memories of them buying the car, the joy of it being automatic, easy to manoeuvre and get in and out of with disabilities. As I stared at the blank space, nothing seemed to be happening but I just sat and let that happen.

I knew it was shades of blue I wanted to be immersed in

et voila  .... immersed in petals.

The Affirmantra message coming through was Connect the Petals - a bit like connect the dots.

I learnt a lot from selling the car, looking back I can connect the petals of how I got to that point. Sorry if that’s cryptic.

In painting the petals, methodically in repetition, I found my heart rate soothe, my emotions calm, my mind became still - I fell into this wave like practice that was hypnotic.

Sometimes we just need to Connect the Petals, Petal.

'Art with Heart - Calm your Mind, Soothe your Soul.'

Mental Health Mantra 34/365

Early in 2020 not long after Mum passed away and whilst caring for my Dad, I was having a conversation with my Montreal confidante and support who lives in 100 acre wood.

We would Whats App audio every single day, back and forth, back and forth, she was helping me figure out what was going on and provided such a calm and stoic voice, whilst we sat virtually, at the table, in that wood, eating cake and drinking tea, in tea cups, from tea pots.

Not long in, the name Neville Goddard began to feature in her words and I would ask her to tell me more about him.  Who is this chap and what's the story.  Neville 1905-1972 was a mystic and influential teacher and author, he didn't associate himself with any 'ism' or 'new thought', he viewed the Bible as a parable of the human psyche and believed that the external God was not answering prayers but rather that we are the creator.  

I was introduced to this from Louise Hay back in the early 90s as I navigated my way through being very ill. I began to research and study and she talked about us 'creating our own reality.'

Fast forward to 2020, 30 years later reading Neville and finding his words resonating on my consciousness in a whole new level.  

It is our beliefs which create our reality

Here was Neville explaining that in fact it was "our beliefs creating our reality, beliefs held in our subconscious mind."

This taps into the scientific field of quantum physics and the quantum field, our thoughts become things and us all being interconnected within a web of thoughts.

Our perceptions are creating the projections, the projections we see in front of us.
Our perceptions are created by our beliefs.
What do we believe and can we change our beliefs? If so how?

You may find he resonates with you, if so, check him out here.  I have the complete Compendium by Dave Allen. 

Keep shining sunshine and imagine the possibilities. 

'Art with Heart, Calm your Mind, Soothe your Soul.'

Mental Health Mantra 33/365

The time I spend with colour and water is very relaxing for my nervous system, I find I calm my breathing down and no sooner have I begun, I check in with the time and about an hour has gone. 

Today, being the second day I revisited paintbrush and pad, I felt irritated that it was all going wrong, I felt the inner critic jump on board, telling me what a fool I was to even begin to think I could do this for 28 days - not only that, but I had committed to myself that I was going to write about it on here.

Add into that mercury is in retrograde, so yep, you guessed it, technology is playing up. Suddenly my printer has decided it doesn't have scanner in built anymore and it just has removed it from the command screen. I uninstalled the printer, reinstalled, turned everything off and on and of course, blew a few times. Nope. It wasn't having any of it. 

Thankfully I don't get worked up, I know these times.  (I am hoping this journal entry uploads).

This quote of Eckhart Tolle is very apt for me  - and maybe for you. 

This is an opportunity to step back and witness the unfolding, the breaking down of paradigms that are no longer serving me, that goes for internal and external.  

I have found in my own spiritual practice that the more I work on my own self, the projection of the external, changes.

Our internal perceptions form the external projections - of course this happens vice versa.

The external projections form our internal perceptions. Not a great way of living as we are constantly detached from our own source, and subsequently guided by what is out there, rather than trusting our own inner connection to universal law. 

Tolle reminds me of this today for this Flower Mantra. 

Peace begins with me.

Keep shining star seeds and trust your intuitive guidance.

​

Art with Heart - Calm your Mind, Soothe your Soul

Mental Health Mantra 32/365

And so here we go, moving in to February with the first Mental Health Mantra.

I wanted to let go this month for the next 28 days to step away from line drawing, to relax my hands and get into flow with the colour of water and the colour of paint. 

It is time to reconnect with Watercolours. 

I probably left it too late to sit down to this, as well as write a journal post here, but it felt lovely nonetheless.

I used the inspiration of the roses my husband bought me at the weekend, they have opened up beautifully.  I felt I wanted to keep loose and abstract and step into the feeling of what it would be like to immerse myself in the rose petals - dreamy~like.  I picked up a white pen and very loosely went in.

I am leaving this month open, I don't know what these are going to look like. I may focus on specific colours, flowers, leaves, abstract. I have no clear plan, I am going to be led by the movement of water, colour and the moment. 

Intuition is a subtle whisper.

I saw this written quite a while ago, I can't recall where, I wrote it down in my journal of mantras. It felt beautiful for today because the whisper is there, yet often it is drowned out. 

We have to do our best to turn stuff off, so that we can hear the whisper of our soul quietly calling.

I am going to feel my way through this month and stay in my truth.

Keep shining starseeds and trust that intuitive intelligence. 

'Art with Heart - Calm your Mind, Soothe your Soul.'