Mental Health Mantra 40/365 I woke up at 5am, couldn't get back to sleep, made myself a cup'o'tea and stepped into my studio space. The sun was breaking over the houses, it peaked in as I painted, more and more. It was lightly snowing and sunny. It felt like a Winsor and Newton-inks morning. They are highly pigmented, I just love watching them move over the watercolour paper. I have a pot of brushes, all sizes - it's the brush size that is so instrumental in the way the colour and water merge, separate, fizzle and dry. It's magical. A great watery meditation. At the same time I was listening to Snatam Kaur. I was so blessed to go and see her live in Toronto when we visited Canada in 2017. What an enlightening event, with such energy in the room. I left BUZZING. It was super lovely too as I met my Buddy from the interwebs Angie, who lived about an hour from Toronto, we ate lovely food and then went to the concert. It reminded me of what power we all have in our interconnectedness, it helped me through today as I navigated my ship. It is Day 40 of writing here, 40 Mental Health Mantras. 40 days can really shift and integrate a new practice. I feel these days are just getting started. Flower Mantras so far have been really healing for me. This mantra 'I call on the light within' comes from one of Snatam's songs with GuruGanesha Singh it felt like it needed its own space to shine. If you'd like to listen to the song, it's below. Sit back close your eyes. Take a deep breath through your nose. Gently breathe out through your nose Find your own breathing rhythm continue for 11mins 20 seconds Love x 'Art with Heart - Calm your Mind, Soothe your Soul.'
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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 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 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.'
Mental Health Mantra 30/365 I pulled a card today from The STARSEED Oracle by Rebecca Campbell and two cards popped out. The first was The Courageous Peony - multifaceted, unique nature, let yourself be seen. The second, I Remember - soul plan. The fated life vs the destiny life. They resonated big time with me. As I am navigating this period of time, moving through and out. The Courageous Peony talks about how flowers don't open and close according to who walks by, they embrace all of what they are and show it to the the world around them. The peony doesn't try to compete with the rose, nor the tulip, they own what they are and trust the timing fo their true nature. This card calls me to do the same. The second card I Remember talks about the difference between the 'fated life' and the 'destiny life' - and right now I am face to face with the choice to follow the destiny life over the fated life. To trust the path my soul is calling me towards and to remember that this was a prearranged moment. With everything on my soul's journey I feel that there are some messages to take back to my journal, to sit in meditation and remember just who I am and why I'm here. Every decade in my life, there has been a story to share, a life event that has shaken me, yet made me stronger and more resilient. Now as things ramp up, both in the external world via government controls and global agendas. I am embodying the energy of The Courageous Peony, owning my own unique ness and light agenda. I am also being asked to remember my soul's greater plan and surrendering to it, there is a reason why all this has happened to me. I send you light and connection to your intuitive intelligence. "Art with Heart - Calm your Mind Soothe your Soul."
Mental Health Mantra 27/365 We have to take steps that move us out of our comfort zone. My friend H, first coined the term about 20 years ago when we were sitting round the fire pit in her garden, "it's the uncomfortable comfort zone where we always seems to reside J, we need to step out of this uncomfortable comfort space into something more, something else, something that may stretch us." This has stuck with me for all these years as I navigate this space that I find myself in. These ending days of January, as we have full moon in Leo tomorrow, I am safeguarding my energy, really bush tuckered tired. Be bold, Be brave, Be yourself. It's so important to focus on this mantra for the next few days as we exit January into February. Keep shining star seeds "Art with Heart - Calm your Mind, Soothe your Soul."
Mental Health Mantra 26/365 There are days when this is the mantra keeps the mood a little more balanced. Today is one of those days. This time is all about staying centred, grounded and sovereign. Keep shining sunbeams. "Art with Heart - Calm your Mind, Soothe your Soul."
Mental Health Mantra 24/365 Today I went to the storage unit where our home contents have been stored since August 2019. Long story but it was only meant to be for 4 weeks and the circumstances, grief and drama, that followed could not be made up by any Coronation Street scriptwriter. I had to give the key to the Manager and we went to have a look inside and whilst there, I picked up a big basket bag of mine and a curver box with a lid. Both items that held things from my studio, which I haven't seen in 18 months. Unpacking them and saying hello to things that were in my studio felt like I was unearthing a time machine. I sat fondly looking through sketch books, affirmation books, diaries, I found my tibetan singing bowl, my inking pen, a framed Muse Mantra, plus a new stash of watercolour paper. I felt lit up. I felt abundant.
Can we spend at least 10% of our day doing something that lights us up? If we can, we may begin to feel a little calmer. Whatever that means for you.... maybe singing a song all the way through, learning to bake something or stretching out. Start with 10%. I have been doing my upmost to shift this and vibrate on a frequency that is higher than the one we are seeing. Lighting up ourselves, individually has a huge knock on effect. Don't let anyone tell you that your light energy contribution doesn't matter as it won't change anything. It does and it will. Keep shining that light sunbeams. "Art with Heart - Calm your Mind, Soothe your Soul."
Mental Health Mantra 23/365 This mantra appeared just as I sat down to do this, I am seeking stretch, I feel I have got into limited patterns of moving, it doesn't feel beneficial for me at all. I then kept hearing in a North Eastern accent, "Stretch Love." It reminded me of the way DCI Vera Stanhope would say it (big fan) she was passing me a message - I heed the call. " Ey pet." I have two super gorgeous yoga mats that I designed myself and they are waiting for me to fall upon and stretch. This body of mine needs stretching and moving. Badly. I feel stuck. Today I woke up to a very large snowfall, I had my green smoothie, but didn't go to a new green place because, well, it was all white. Tomorrow is another day. Keep shining star beams. "Art with Heart - Calm your Mind, Soothe your Soul"
Mental Health Mantra 22/365 I may have written in earlier journal posts, I often see what message comes through as I'm creating the piece. Today it zoomed through like Speedy Gonzales. Let the green stuff be the guide. This is a huge message for me because I have felt quite hemmed in, isolated, not getting enough green stuff. Green stuff is very wide ranging and it means all sorts of things to me, and I am sure it will mean lots of other things for you too. Green stuff - obviously green stuff means grass, nature, trees, mountains. It also means houseplants, potting plants, soil (ok not exactly green but helping the green stuff to grow.) I'm a huge fan of pottering outside, gardening, clipping back. Green stuff also means green veg. kale, broccoli, sprouts, leeks, green apples, celery cucumber, all helping to reduce inflammation and provide me with a high dose of nutrients in a hit. Whether I'm out in the green stuff, eating the green stuff or tidying up the green stuff, for instance houseplants, or watering them, making them feel nice, my frequency barometer shifts up a notch, I can raise my frequency level and feel a high vibe. It may not last long because life throws us curve balls. The point is, I can let the green stuff be the guide and see where it leads me. The colour green is hugely calming too, whether that be a green face mask, painting with a green colour pallet, green nail varnish, green eyeshadow... you get the gist. This weekend I am connecting to the green stuff. Wake up and make up to a green smoothie Organise, water and tidy the houseplants, Tidy up my orchids / they need some more bark. (I have found my new love of orchids for 5 years I have kept returning year after year.) Visit some new green stuff that I haven't been to yet. Paint some green pallet Dig out some green eyeshadow/ I think I have turquoise but it's near enough. Let the green stuff be the guide. Keep shining folks, know that your light energy is always there shining bright. Despite the knocks. You Got This! 'Art with Heart - Calm your Mind, Soothe your Soul."
Mental Health Mantra 21/365 What was going through my brain as I wrote go and ing on separate lines. It felt like a BIG word and this BIG word needed space between the Go and the ING. It got me thinking about the word, defining 'going' it says in the Dictionary 'to make headway' and 'reach a goal.' I liked the headway bit because that is quite often what we are trying to navigate in this realm of many thought connections. I am feeling the need for real deep peace and quiet. I have to foster this inside of myself, so please if I don't answer your text message, or call you back I am 'keeping going' and what that means right now is focusing inward, there is alot to process. Much is coming through right now, a breakdown of systems and paradigms, I am feeling alot of it, not only in my personal life, but in the greater field of life 'out there.' As an empath I am truly ultra sensitive to other's emotions and vibes so I have to hunker down in 100 acre wood and calm my mind and soothe my soul. That has been my tag line for 10 years now since beginning to draw people, in real terms I have used this tag all my life. Whomever you are reading this. Keep Go ing. You're making headway. It may seem you're not as all around you is crazy town. Stay centred strong in your truth Keep shining your light from within you. For, it matters. It matters A lot. 'Art with Heart - Calm your Mind, Soothe your Soul.'
Mental Health Mantra 20/365 Start by doing one thing, I hear in my ear, this morning as I wake. one thing any thing some thing I ponder on what that one thing may be to change the dynamic of my day. I feel this one thing is a step towards something I have been imagining. Today is a day of contemplation. Of new beginnings and learning to fly again. Maybe this sparks you to consider how you may 'start by doing one thing.' Keep shining starbeams and remember your intuitive intelligence. and let me know what mantras you use every day, I'd love to hear, I will add them to my Affirmantra Pot! 'Art with Heart - Calm your Mind, Soothe your Soul.'
Mental Health Mantra 19/365 I wake up and ask myself this question today. I feel there's something I need to do and so I have to go to my toolkit and see what it is that resonates. In my book that I'm currently writing, ReBalance Me, I have 7 ways to wellness, they are Boost, Nourish, Cocoon, Support, Create, Care and Move. To answer this mantra today, I go look in each of these ways and ask myself what I need, what's the message coming through. What's resonating? Sitting quietly I close my eyes, letting my breath flow in and out of my nose. In those few minutes, I realised I needed the following prescription for the day, to rebalance me. ReBalance-Me Prescription for Jules : )
This prescription helped me to shift things today. Do you have a toolkit of stuff that you turn to? Hands up, don't we forget? Especially when we are dealing with stress, high anxiety, apprehension, add in the blanks you're dealing with currently, ______________, __________________, ________________. I remembered I need reminders and repetition, which is why I'm creating these Mental Health Mantras, to send calm and soothing messages to my subconscious mind. Sincerely hope this helps you too. Keep centred starseeds on your own intuitive intelligence. "Art with Heart - Calm your Mind, Soothe your Soul."
Mental Health Mantra 18/365 Be the Observer. My lovely friend Barefoot Doctor, Stephen Russell who suddenly passed away last January would always talk to me and write about it in his countless books and at workshops - that is - moving our awareness to the very back of the head, ie. physically imagine you're taking awareness of what you're seeing to the back side of your head space, Behind your skull. Once there, watch, observe, at what is going on around you. It's a practice like anything else. A skill. Try it. It's fun. It gives you a perspective where you can detach from the actual movie theatre playing right around you. It relates to our third eye, based right on your forehead, between the eyebrows, slightly above, and symbolically relating to the chakra point which is coloured indigo. Your third eye is the central point for your intuition, imagination and inner wisdom. It can't be seen per se, it's an energetic eye. However if you close your eyes and look at the sun and meditate there upon, you may see an eye appear behind your eyelids. Be The observer. Deflect. Reflect. Stand Back. There is alot going on, physically, emotionally, spiritually, energetically, world wide. Step back from judgment, flip it to compassion. We are all having very different experiences based on our frame of references in our life. Be the observer. Take your time to make decisions. Do your own independent research. Ask questions. Go with your gut. You'll know. Sending heaps of love. Keep shining starseeds. Thank you for being here and watching this unfold. It is great to be writing here again. "Art with Heart - Calm your Mind, Soothe your Soul."
Mental Health Mantra 16/365 As I am creating these Mental Health Mantras I wait for the mantra to appear to me. I do have lists upon lists of many of them over the years, and lots of new ones that appear. But I wait for the right one to appear. With this particular Muse, her hair went a little off the beaten track and I had to cut her hair off and start again with a backing sheet (the joys of art production). In doing so, what then appeared was this cracking head scarf, which I totally loved. It just made her feel different and quirky. I am a head scarf wearer but don't wear that many any more (who knows but I'm going to ponder on that one). It's something I will definitely be picking back up because as I was drawing it, I realised that there is something about wrapping colourful scarves around my head and hair that instantly makes me feel creative. I step into a mode of being, that I really love. Do they suit me - I don't know? But I love them. As my lovely Uncle Freddy used to say in his thick German accent "Who Cares ... !! " Bam, that's when the mantra popped up from the Muse. Do YouYes it could have been Be You, but actually Do You felt like a real powerful mantra as I look in the mirror wearing my scarf wrapped around my head. Do You. It's okay to Do You. Don't Do Anyone Else. Just those two words say more. I'll leave it there. Take this and go with it. You will know what Do You means for you. Sending heaps of huggles, keep that intuition shining. "Art with Heart - Calm your Mind, Soothe your Soul."
Mental Health Mantra 15/365 I'm not one for Tellavision, I rarely watch these days, definitely not live TV, but I have recently come across the new campaign urging everyone to stay home featuring none other than Chris Whitty. Oh gracious me, give me strength. It made me think of this phrase that I saw in a film once, it resonated with me and I wrote it down in my notes. Advertise to yourself. Impress your own heart. I wonder if Chris Whitty was advertising to himself, impressing his own heart during that tv campaign? Not sure he was. If he stopped for a moment and thought about the intention, he may have thought differently. Thank goodness I don't watch tellavision. Not to focus on this tv advert but to focus more on the advertising to self, got me thinking. How would I impress my own heart, what could I do? I am running on very low energy at the moment, frequencies are high externally, there is alot going on energetically around the world. Things are breaking down and unfolding relating to the situation we are in globally. There is going to be alot of revealing literature. I'm feeling it all. Add into this collecting my husband from hospital yesterday, seeing him walking out dealing with the after effects of radio iodine ablation, it makes me catch my breath. I think about the words I use, the phrasing, what I'm telling myself. So let's get back to impressing our own hearts and advertising to ourselves. When you think of the amount of effort time money and hard graft goes into advertisements, it gives a sense of what we could be doing to impress our own hearts/boost our own morale. Lots to ponder this weekend about this affirmation. It resonates with me, maybe it does with you too? Keep shining starseeds, and connecting to your intuition. "Art with Heart - Calm your Mind, Soothe your Soul."
Mental Health Mantra 14/365 I have been noticing the feelings I'm feeling and also noticing the triggers. This is a good mantra reminder for me today. What is triggering? Is it something I am reading, hearing, on main stream media, social media, outside of me, inside of me? I find that when I notice the feelings I'm feeling it is often because of an action or a behaviour that I am presenting in me, or an action or behaviour I am seeing. There is lots to unpick with this but noticing the feelings, whether that be anger, rage, apathy, disgust, sadness - they are all valid emotions and valid feelings, the key is to explore why and notice the trigger. I am waiting to hear from my husband about picking him up from the hospital, he has been in 4 days, and has had the radio iodine scan this morning so we will have a bigger picture outlook when they can share with him the uptake. Fingers crossed all will be well. Keep noticing, keep reflecting, stay open to what your intuition is telling you. "Art with Heart - Calm your Mind, Soothe your Soul."
Mental Health Mantra 13/365 I need this today. Sleep, press pause. That's my mantra. Right here. What about you? Shine on sunbeams : > ) "Art with Heart - Calm your Mind, Soothe your Soul"
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