In all of this external drama I have had to choose one thing to keep me sane and so I made meditation a priority, connection to spirit, quietness, stillness, amongst all the other stuff I have integrated over the past 32 years. The mental health anxiety I am witnessing in others and snapshots in myself the breakdowns of what is going on, means it has to be a daily practice otherwise I will go under. I hope it helps you to soothe any anxiety about what is unfolding and can help you calm your mind and soothe your soul. This is for you who who want to rebalance your chakras and feel less anxious about all the external stuff happening. I am planning to do some videos of me doing this self soothing meditation, which could be super cool if we do them in a group, so let me know if you'd be interested and I'll keep you posted. Take one of these slides and place your hands in the positions illustrated and repeat the mantra to yourself for 3 minutes. If you want to focus on all 9 of these hand positions, this will take you 27 mins (yep I can count lol). Sending you oodles of love on this wintery day. Keep shining your light and trust your intuitive intelligence. Art with Heart ~ Calm Your Mind, Soothe Your Soul.
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Dearest She I have been writing to you since you passed, picking up a pen to write is my go-to because I know we shared a love of writing and the written word. I feel close to you when I'm writing you letters. Are you near? I hope and pray that you're now running, skipping and dancing free, just like the 7 year old ballerina in the DVD from 1942. I am so very heart broken that you're no longer here physically - devastated - I know how tired your physical body was and it just couldn't go on. I was singing the other day to Edelweiss on the radio, we loved singing together and especially those harmonies as we did the washing up.. I want to curl up and hide away but right now I'm needed here, I'm tired and need to rest. It's Poetry Group tonight, the title you all chose back in August is still Somewhere Else, it seems so fitting now. We are all reconnecting around your table, to honour you. I had planned to join the poetry clan anyway when I returned, now I'm sitting in your chair. I hope I'll be okay. I have found the beginning of your poem that you began in August, after the last session. Who knew you wouldn't be there, things took a turn for the worst and here we are, without you. I have also written my poem. I do hope you are listening. I bought biscuits. Somewhere Else S uddenly living in a new place O n a bed of emotions and grief M issing the very woman I returned to love E ntering a twilight world W atching the world go by H ankering after missed opportunities E scaping when I can, not R eassuring my heart E verything will be okay E verything will settle L eaning in, to acceptance S urrendering to what is E volving into someone somewhere else Julia Harvey October 2019 and now for yours. Somewhere Else Where is somewhere else In your mind, in your soul In your hopes, in your dreams In your thought, in your days Mind going back to your childhood When your worries were inside Sheila Dolowitch August 2019. Post Poetry GroupDear She
It was a lovely night, everyone was so kind and pleased to be back, celebrating you. We talked of you and they shared their stories. Stories are everything. Memories are what I crave. They shared their own poems, of Somewhere Else, and also Poems written about you. How wonderful these words were, you would have been so humbled, tears would have fallen, just as they did for me. I hope you know you are and were, incredibly loved by all people you came into contact. I hope you hear. Love your Jules x I’m a huge fan of Vera and I like to challenge myself so here I am drawing DCI Vera Stanhope and creating her Muse Mantra. I love everything about the series, the scriptwriting, the cast, the one liners of Vera. Priceless. For this Muse Mantra I thought I would have a go at doing two different images one with watercolours and one with professional markers. These are my usual go-to but I wanted to see how watercolour would feel for this image. I am always listening and writing down mantras and affirmations, and the one that Vera says in one of the episodes really resonates. xo Julia xo
It has been a long time since I sat down and wrote a blog. All of this is becoming clearer to me these past two days.
For the past 6 years I have been struggling to find my way to write my 'back to health' story of when I was ill in my 20s with M.E, that debilitating health problem that floored me. I have fleshed out the content, I knew exactly what this would be but... something was holding me back. I ran a few online programmes called ReBalance Me, I began a ReBalance Me Club for people and then I suddenly found myself, slam dunk, right in the middle of something, I felt I was treading through mud. I didn't know what it was. Then I began to peel back layers and recognised, I was peri menopausal moving into menopause. My counselling practice sees me supporting many women to rebalance their lives, women who are going through many emotional symptoms, as well as physical (the emotional aren't really talked about). Fast forward to July 2018, and as I started my 50th year. Bam. Guess what .... I realised that I too am now one of those women. I am in this phase. I am in the change. I have known this for about 4-5 years and it has steadily got more and more challenging. Worse. Do I recognise this current Julia? Well, I see snippets of her, but really she's changing. Then, out on a walk with my Jacks, I realise that I need to truly reconnect with my own ReBalanceMe 7Ways , the one that I wrote many moons ago, and have amended for the last 2. The one that I support and guide other women to look at. Mmm..... time to listen to my own guidance. In my research and experience, I hear mostly about physical symptoms of peri and meno, but what isn't discussed much, is the feeling of "change." Self esteem, confidence, desire, low mood, high mood, anxiety, all these hormonal fluctuations that make dealing with all of this, every day, so, so difficult. On top of that we are dealing with the life changes that occur when you're mid to late 40s, through 50s. My intention now for this space is for you to feel calm, soothed, inspired, less stressed and anxious. I'll share with you my 7 Ways to Wellness that I write about in ReBalanceMe, with the main thread that I am going to be following this too. I want you you take back the reigns and discover your own 7ways toolkit. I'm going to continue my research and talk to people about all of this, ultimately in talking about it with other holistic experts, I will share this via my vlog. People often ask me how I integrate and weave Reiki into Muse Mantra Portraits How can a 2D piece of paper/canvas absorb Reiki and what does that mean anyway? I find myself talking about this a lot, so I thought I would share my ritual, whether I’m working with paper or canvas. If you’re not familiar with Reiki, it is a wonderful energy system that can be used in any part of your life. It's pronounced “ray-key” which means Rei “spiritual” or “sacred ” and ki “energy.” Together they are translated in the West to mean “Universal Energy.” Ki has the same meaning as Chi in Chinese, Prana in Sanskrit, and Ti or Ki in Hawaiian, however, whatever you choose to call this energy, it’s the same vital energy force of all things. Energy in ArtHave you ever looked at a piece of art and felt the energy within the painting? Or perhaps been drawn to an image on a greeting card in a shop? Are you pulled to certain colours and felt soothed by them? As a Reiki Master and having worked with it for the last 15 years, I know that everything is energy; you can feel it, hear, see it and sense it. Ultimately I am infusing the 3 of the symbols I use into the paper. You've heard of using a proxy when giving Reiki, often we can use a teddy bear, or plant or a photograph to send the Reiki, in drawing an illustration of you, I am weaving in the symbols directly into the pencil, pens and markers. You won't see it in the finished piece, but you'll feel it. Any Muse Mantra will become a totem or a talisman for your daily journey. The more I use Reiki in my creative process, the more messages and stories I pick up, which I now pass onSo what do I do? There are three parts: 1) Setting up the Space: I always take time to set up the zone and space where I’m working. As I gather my things together, and lay them out, I will light incense, a candle and put on some mantra music – I love Snatam Kaur and Deva Premal. 2) Quiet Time: Sitting down, ready to start, I get quiet, and relax. Here I will invite in my Reiki, Spiritual and Animal Guides. I activate my hands with Reiki and ask for it to flow freely within the sketch/or the colour. I wrote my own private prayer so this is where I’ll say it. After I have done this, I then cast my eyes over the collection of photographs that I have of the person I'm drawing. The photos are for me to get a sense, a feeling of who they are. I never create the same image from a photo. 3) The Creative Act (sketch/colour) I now just let this process flow – I begin to sketch. I note down any thoughts, feelings or messages I’m getting, which I can share with them when we connect later. Whether this is for an individual or for a family, the process is the same. During this time, I like to listen to any sonic music, sometimes classical. After I have finished the sketch I then move on to the colour-fill. I make sure to haven lemon water by my side. I’m never without lemons : ) When I’m happy with the finished illustration I will invoke the distant healing symbol within the piece, sending a blessing to the person who I’m creating, even if they have passed over. I also create portraits of animals and do the same. In the past couple of years I have been choosing crystals, laying the illustration down on a crystal grid - the crystals add more insight to the process and I love discovering the ones I have chosen and their meaning. The more I use Reiki in my creative process, the more messages and stories I pick up, which I now pass on. Julia xx 27 years ago, I stumbled upon a practice that helped me in a very dark time of my life. I didn’t know back then anything about mood boards or vision books, we’re talking the 90’s, nobody talked about stuff like that! Here I was, stuck in bed, dealing with a long term disabling health problem called M.E (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis). I was 22 and had been ill for 2 years, my life was on hold, in storage, locked up, paused. I didn’t know how long this was going to continue but it ended up lasting a further 7 years. My self-esteem was in the pan and my confidence … well, let’s put it this way, I had none. Being ill was robbing me of everything. I was desperate to find a way out of this shitty space, but energy wise, I had limited reserves. Having a shower or washing my hair took every ounce of me. I was itching to look forward to a life that oozed wellness, I longed for a career that made me jump for joy and a relationship that shook my world, fulfilling and loving and all that jazz. I ached for travel and yearned for my own space again, because I was living back with my parents having had a 2-year independence-break, working in the world of commerce in a different city. There were dreams, but I just couldn’t see them properly. I was tired all the damn time, the dreams, well, they were fuzzy and deep, deep inside. I had always been a rock steady journaller, head stuck in a notebook where possible and pen in hand, I had written tonnes of pages on finding my way through these health troubles and scratched out some desires and goals but I was completely stuck. I couldn’t see a way through. I wanted to feel less anxious about the way my life was going. Looking around me, I saw other sufferers ill for 20 + years and I cried myself to sleep, hoping this was not going to be me. I was stressed out about the recovery statistics, I was flapping about which way to turn and my gut instinct and intuition were taking a real beating. Somewhere along the way, an idea popped into my mind, it could have been from Oprah’s ‘remembering your spirit’ segment right at the end of her show, which I devoured, it was the only positive thing I was seeing on TV at that time, in spite of it being ridiculed in the press, or I may have just been sent a direct message in dream time. What and how, the ideas all merge into one. This idea kept growing inside of me that instead of writing my dreams in my journal, I would find a new blank notebook and rip out images and words from the magazines that I had piling up in my room. Images that inspired and motivated me. This became my little go-to task of the day, nothing fancy or ‘the secret-like’ but just little-old-ill-me, ripping images with glue stick in hand. I didn’t make big collages back then, it was just small and simple. I would rip and paste an image that my insides loved, a colour, a phrase, a word. If my gut instinct loved it, I’d rip it out. I recognised after a few months that this little practice was boosting my inner spirit, it gave me a lift. I felt hopeful. I began to see similar images popping out, animals featured a lot, dogs in particular, craft, art, making, design, bright colours, scenes from nature, travel, words that were big and bold, things like ‘do it, lush, loving, boss’ I felt a sense of warmth growing deep in my belly, not sure what it was but it felt like – knowing - knowing that I was finding my heart again, somewhere amongst the pages. I could play in here, it was safe, fun and non-judgmental. This very early visual notebook turned into a cool tool that let me hear whispers of my intuition, it showed me that I could give myself some space to dream. It soothed me when I felt exhausted drained and lifeless. I felt small nudges of what’s next. I got to see a visual cue of my soul and what I was desiring. Like I said. I felt Hope Full. Fast forward to the present day and this has become a crucial part of my creative healing toolkit that helps to rebalance me and also my clients. Five years ago, I began designing Muse Mantras and I discovered that each card I was designing could be a prompt for a vision page, a little question to help with the focus of the page: for example, how my body wants to feel relaxed, or how my heart wants to feel joy, or imagining the possibilities. It gave me another way to vision and I loved it. So I decided to pull it together and ran it as a course and offered it out there in cyber land, such a gorgeous group of women joined me to sample this programme. “This course increased my confidence and positive outlook, such a great idea.” Kerry “It’s so inspiring to look at my visions, I so wish I had done this earlier.” Rachael. “As I went through the magazines, I felt images and words jumped out at me, they made me feel really positive, happy and warm, I love that this is ‘being the me I want to be’ and I feel I’m entering a transition process, this course is helping me.” Kerry “I have just had the most wonderful hour – I started to select images and words last night and then this morning I felt I just had to vision first, before anything else. I am so glad I did. Gaining visual clarity around where I find joy feels like it has opened a doorway to the next steps of my life.” Mary “I’m doing this on my kitchen table and loving it. I’m going to reflect on my whispers but I think my right to enjoy the good life is a theme and I also believe my page is giving me permission to be myself. Loving the course.” Jan. I knew then it wasn’t just me. Now when I turn to magazines, glue stick and vision book, I truly recognise that this is a beautiful mindfulness practice and choosing a muse mantra card sends my inner traveller ‘bon voyage’, as she navigates her way through, listening to the whispers of her soul. I find my breathing slows down, I begin to feel differently about where I’m at and where I want to be. I feel braver. I feel calmer. I feel less stressed about what’s happening around me and I can feel the rumblings of transformation. My body, mind and spirit reconnects and rebalances. As I create these empowering spirit loving vision books, I can see the map of my inner world emerging. I can choose to follow these maps and be guided by the imagery and words, or I can just experience the beautiful process I have just had, allowing the imagery and words to connect to my intuitive know-how. I was one of the lucky ones, I emerged from that ill health tunnel when I was 29, it was a long slog to wellness, pretty much the whole of my 20s – a HUGE crisis but one that taught me many things about health, wellbeing and healing. I learnt that our health experiences are vast and deeply connected, one can’t be separated from the other. I found my way out because I became my own private investigator, I became my own healer. I researched and read so much around complementary therapies and western medicine, I studied an honours degree in Health to explore it from all modalities and the routes to wellness and qualified as a Counsellor and gaining my adult education teaching qualification I taught Health & Holistic Wellness within colleges and university. I found my way back. Most of the time I felt alone in a bubble of illness, I didn’t have anyone to turn to who had overcome a crisis in this way, I had to fathom it all out and this was pre-Google. I had to resort to libraries and the yellow pages! Yet, I developed and created some fundamental practices, my Seven Ways to Wellness, which are the bedrock for my life and for living. ‘Create’ is the 5th Way to Wellness and Visioning is contained within there. As a mindfulness practice, I truly believe it is one path to help with managing and mastering stress and anxiety and coming back to a centre point of balance. I really don’t want people to feel alone like I did, so I took all that I experienced and now help people to rebalance. I have felt well for the past 20 years, I have had ups and downs but never returned back to that dark place. As I step into my fifth decade this year, I intend to embrace this new age and deal with new life-changes that are presenting themselves daily, using my '7 Ways to Wellness', because they are just as important to me now as they were 29 years ago. Visioning is definitely one of the keys that helped me. Give it a go : ) I am putting the finishing touches to Vision with the Muse a self paced e-course to take you through creating 7 Vision Pages in a Book based on 7 Muse Mantra Cards from The Deck, so stay tuned.
In the meantime if you're in the Oxfordshire area, I'm running a workshop called Vision with the Moon, Sunday Jan 28 at The Wychwood Inn. All the details are here. Hope to see you then Julia xx
A vision board is not about being creative and it’s certainly not about being artistic.
It’s about relaxation and about meeting your true self. Enabling you to visualise a representation of what you are inviting into your life. It’s a map of your world.
How to start?
A vision board is a collection of images that show your desired realities, It helps you focus your energy on a desired goal or a group of goals. Goals with Soul You choose either one of the areas below, or create a board that incorporates all of them!
This list is only limited by your imagination. What you'll need: 1. 1 x A2 piece of card, any weight is fine, if you wish to go bigger, then go for it. A1 it is! 2. A stack of magazines 20+ - find a variety of magazines; i.e photography, travel, fitness, national geographic, mens, women's, crafting, art, animals, cars. Ask at your local hairdressers, or dentist for what they may be throwing out/recycling. 3. A Glue Stick. 4. Scissors 5. Sharpies/Marker pens 6. Plain paper for writing power words
How to create your Vision Board
Begin with Relaxation It is always preferable to get quiet, and be still. For about 10 minutes focus on your breathing and relax your brain. Take this time to meditate with a guided meditation, or simple play some relaxing music to allow yourself to relax and tap into the part of you that is going to connect with your inner dreams. You can use this music below from Paul Collier to quieten your mind
Music
Music is really important as you vision. Create a playlist that invokes calm and feels really soothing to you. You will need this as you begin to flick through and scan the magazines.
Begin
Choose any magazine and start to flick through. Notice what catches your eye Colour, Word, Image Cut it out and put it to one side Don't spend time analysing, cut it out and put it to one side. When you have quite a stash of cut outs The cutting out is a process in it's own right. Spend at least 30-40 minutes cutting out Then turn to your lovely clear A2 or A1 piece of card and start to stick down the images and words that mean something to you as you now look at them again. Do you feel a flicker of eagerness when you look at the image you have chosen? Does your heart skip a beat? Can you sit staring at that picture for a long while? Are you taken off into a new adventure? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you know you're on the right track.
How to use your Vision Board in your daily life
My suggestions are to keep your finished piece private, if you can. Don’t put it on show as others may choose not to appreciate it the same way you do, so only share it with those people close to you. Place your vision board somewhere you will see it every day, where you can lose yourself in some of those images and you can think, see, feel, hear what it would be like to “be in it”. After a while you may find you don’t resonate with it, that’s the time to change its location, perhaps put it away and let things settle. Sooner rather than later, you’ll realise if you want to do another one. The idea of the vision boards is to show YOU in your ideal scenario with your goal fully realised. If you can, make sure you put yourself in the picture. For a realistic effect use a photograph of yourself. Show yourself, being, doing, or having your desired objective – travelling round the world, proud author of your new book etc. Show the situation in its ideal, complete form, as if it already exists. You don’t need to indicate how it came about. This is the finished product. Don’t show anything negative or undesirable. Make it believable to you. Vision with the Moon
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Do you sometimes struggle with putting yourself first?
It seems that if we are seen to do so, we may be seen as selfish.
Funny word that 'selfish'.
Self .......... ish
The dictionary definition is: lacking consideration for others; concerned chiefly with one's own personal profit or pleasure.
When I look at the Thesaurus alternatives, I'm faced with:
Egocentric, egotistic, egotistical, egomaniacal, self-centred, self-absorbed, self-obsessed, self-seeking, self-serving, wrapped up in oneself; inconsiderate, thoughtless, unthinking, uncaring, uncharitable; mean, miserly, grasping, greedy, mercenary, acquisitive, opportunistic; informal looking after number one.
My definition of selfish means 'focused on self' and certainly not all of those above.
Sometimes, just sometimes, we have to put ourselves first.
I am going to be itsy bitsy selfish as I take my Holiday at Home in August.
That means, saying no and putting myself first. Does that make me selfish?
Holidays aren't the only time I want to feel, rested, relaxed, nurtured, off radar.
I want to feel this way during the year too.
This past 4 years I have been calling in my core desired feelings - feelings that light me and and fill my boots. Thanks to Danielle LaPorte and The Desire Map
Connected, Abundant, Creative, Radiant, Divine.
It seems that if we are seen to do so, we may be seen as selfish.
Funny word that 'selfish'.
Self .......... ish
The dictionary definition is: lacking consideration for others; concerned chiefly with one's own personal profit or pleasure.
When I look at the Thesaurus alternatives, I'm faced with:
Egocentric, egotistic, egotistical, egomaniacal, self-centred, self-absorbed, self-obsessed, self-seeking, self-serving, wrapped up in oneself; inconsiderate, thoughtless, unthinking, uncaring, uncharitable; mean, miserly, grasping, greedy, mercenary, acquisitive, opportunistic; informal looking after number one.
My definition of selfish means 'focused on self' and certainly not all of those above.
Sometimes, just sometimes, we have to put ourselves first.
I am going to be itsy bitsy selfish as I take my Holiday at Home in August.
That means, saying no and putting myself first. Does that make me selfish?
Holidays aren't the only time I want to feel, rested, relaxed, nurtured, off radar.
I want to feel this way during the year too.
This past 4 years I have been calling in my core desired feelings - feelings that light me and and fill my boots. Thanks to Danielle LaPorte and The Desire Map
Connected, Abundant, Creative, Radiant, Divine.
Here are my 5 Ways to create your Holiday at Home
1. Make the Decision, find the time and block it out
Look at your diary and find at least 5 days clear.
You need to plan for this time.
Mark it on the calendar,
Make Space.
Dedicate the time.
I can't tell you how huge it is when you block out the time and not plan anything that is work related.
2. Tell Family, Friends, Colleagues, Potential Clients and Those Who Ask ... You're on holiday. When they ask where? You say, 'At Home.'
It is very tempting to feel like you have to say yes to an appointment, a commitment or a work opportunity.
Imagine you're going away on holiday - you would decline.
You have to say the same.
"Oh, that week? I'm on holiday, can we reschedule for the week of ______________"
Whether you're taking 1 day, 2 or more, believe it, deserve it and let it sink in.
3. Create a holiday at home vision page. Somewhere you can see it. (I take a photo and save it as my desktop background and also have it on my phone wallpaper).
I created a page in my vision book called 'Decadence'. I used to do this when I was younger, only those times I'd call them mood books.
It nudged me to actually wake up and spend time finding out what I wanted for my holiday at home.
How?
**Think about the feeling you want to feel during your holiday time.
Is it relaxed, soothed, energised.
Cast your mind to previous holidays away - what feelings did they bring out in you?
**Spend time with some magazines, scissors and glue stick.
Go with your gut instinct, just cut out what appeals and lights you up, even if you have no clue why. Just cut.
**Spend time placing it on your pages.
Really look at these images, what is pulling you?
No Art Instinct needed here.
Just Gut instinct.
This is where it begins.
See what your soul is calling for your holiday at home.
1. Make the Decision, find the time and block it out
Look at your diary and find at least 5 days clear.
You need to plan for this time.
Mark it on the calendar,
Make Space.
Dedicate the time.
I can't tell you how huge it is when you block out the time and not plan anything that is work related.
2. Tell Family, Friends, Colleagues, Potential Clients and Those Who Ask ... You're on holiday. When they ask where? You say, 'At Home.'
It is very tempting to feel like you have to say yes to an appointment, a commitment or a work opportunity.
Imagine you're going away on holiday - you would decline.
You have to say the same.
"Oh, that week? I'm on holiday, can we reschedule for the week of ______________"
Whether you're taking 1 day, 2 or more, believe it, deserve it and let it sink in.
3. Create a holiday at home vision page. Somewhere you can see it. (I take a photo and save it as my desktop background and also have it on my phone wallpaper).
I created a page in my vision book called 'Decadence'. I used to do this when I was younger, only those times I'd call them mood books.
It nudged me to actually wake up and spend time finding out what I wanted for my holiday at home.
How?
**Think about the feeling you want to feel during your holiday time.
Is it relaxed, soothed, energised.
Cast your mind to previous holidays away - what feelings did they bring out in you?
**Spend time with some magazines, scissors and glue stick.
Go with your gut instinct, just cut out what appeals and lights you up, even if you have no clue why. Just cut.
**Spend time placing it on your pages.
Really look at these images, what is pulling you?
No Art Instinct needed here.
Just Gut instinct.
This is where it begins.
See what your soul is calling for your holiday at home.
4. Write down how the images make you feel.
Spend a little time looking at the page you have created.
Write down what those images and words mean to you?
I wrote mine and here's what I wrote from looking at my vision page:
- Swim daily
- Visit an old fashioned Sweet Shop
- Go Thrift Shopping
- Do some Life Drawing
- Get my old records out.
- Buy flowers
- Drink champagne
- Have a swedish massage
- Draw and journal
- Visit my local art gallery
- Visit the Beach
- Read a novel
All of this from my decadent vision page.
So go write down your feelings about your pages.
What are the images telling you?
5. Choose With Your Heart
When you look at your page and you have written out the feelings, you can begin to map out your week.
The list has to make you feel excited, energised, relaxed and recharged.
What can you weave into your holiday at home?
Visit your own city/town/and find out what's on there.
I would love to hear what's on your list.
Moving into September and approaching autumn, it is important to take steps to boost your immune system. You may also be in a front facing customer service role, teaching, healing, therapy, retail - if this is you - your well-being is of the up most importance.
Here are 5 ways to boost your immunity so that you feel like you're you're not dragging your heels by the time you get to January.
This is just a sweet sample and by no means thorough.
Here are 5 ways to boost your immunity so that you feel like you're you're not dragging your heels by the time you get to January.
This is just a sweet sample and by no means thorough.
1. Eat Yourself Happy
What we eat has an impact on our immunity, we know this, yet often we struggle. Often we'll turn to something for speed.
Let's consider introducing more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, pulses and good fats, such as avocados, extra virgin olive oil. Why not give yourself a try to let go of any animal protein, as well as refined sugars and saturated fat.
If you're feeling a bit low in energy, a good daily multivitamin will also help to ensure your body is receiving the necessary vitamins and minerals to stay healthy.
Gentle Nudge: Go top up your fruit bowl and replenish that vegetable drawer.
Try some cauliflower, it's a great source of fibre and potassium, which you can roast, mash or add to curries.
Let's consider introducing more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, pulses and good fats, such as avocados, extra virgin olive oil. Why not give yourself a try to let go of any animal protein, as well as refined sugars and saturated fat.
If you're feeling a bit low in energy, a good daily multivitamin will also help to ensure your body is receiving the necessary vitamins and minerals to stay healthy.
Gentle Nudge: Go top up your fruit bowl and replenish that vegetable drawer.
Try some cauliflower, it's a great source of fibre and potassium, which you can roast, mash or add to curries.
2. On Your Marks, Get Set, Go!
During the summer we are keen to get out while it is light, and as we know autumn is approaching, we feel the move to stay indoors.
But what we know for sure is that moving for 30 minutes every day will help to diminish any potential coughs and colds. It will really boost immunity.
Walking is great but cardio is the best form of movement. Dancing, Running, Aerobic class, Cycling.....
Gentle Nudge: Why not track a mile from your door, get out amongst the green space, create a playlist and power walk or run with your dog, they'll thank you for it.
But what we know for sure is that moving for 30 minutes every day will help to diminish any potential coughs and colds. It will really boost immunity.
Walking is great but cardio is the best form of movement. Dancing, Running, Aerobic class, Cycling.....
Gentle Nudge: Why not track a mile from your door, get out amongst the green space, create a playlist and power walk or run with your dog, they'll thank you for it.
3. Sleep Easy
Obviously the big issue about sleep is different for everyone. Some of us sleep well and some have difficulty.
Either way, let's flip it.
Think more about the time leading up to bed. Watching TV at midnight or on your computer working on an assignment is not going to boost your immune system. Pick a time to wind down of an evening, maybe from 9.30pm?
Gentle Nudge: Before you go to bed, spend 30 minutes shifting the focus from what you are doing. Turn off the TV, listen to calming music, eat a few almonds as they're full of magnesium. Get yourself ready for bed, have a shower, lie on your bed and relax before turning out the light. Why not pick up a book? A good old fashioned paper book!
Either way, let's flip it.
Think more about the time leading up to bed. Watching TV at midnight or on your computer working on an assignment is not going to boost your immune system. Pick a time to wind down of an evening, maybe from 9.30pm?
Gentle Nudge: Before you go to bed, spend 30 minutes shifting the focus from what you are doing. Turn off the TV, listen to calming music, eat a few almonds as they're full of magnesium. Get yourself ready for bed, have a shower, lie on your bed and relax before turning out the light. Why not pick up a book? A good old fashioned paper book!
Five of Amazon’s top 10 books last year were adult colouring-in books.
Last year in France, the combined colouring-in industry sold 3.5m books.
According to the Mental Health Foundation, 59% of adults in Britain say they are more stressed today than they were five years ago.
Adult's are looking for a way to feel calm.
Colouring is a great way to switch off.
Soaring numbers of British adults have turned to colouring books in an effort to combat stress after it was proven that colouring in can help alleviate tension.
Colouring is something that most of us did as kids, as it helped us with various aspects of our development, including coordination and confidence.
Adults are now doing it for themselves!
So what has caused this newfound love among adults for colouring books?
If you put a piece of paper and a crayon in front of a child, they’ll start drawing, but as an adult you lose that spontaneity, colouring can help adults practise mindfulness, which, along with exercise, is recommended as a way to train the brain away from focusing on everyday worries.
It allows you to get absorbed in the moment. The benefits of mindfulness practice and meditation are well-documented, and many of the same benefits are experienced with colouring.
We are constantly bombarded with technology, you can download apps to your phone in a few seconds and sometimes, it’s too much for us to take in.
Colouring allows us to go back to a slower pace.
Yes!
Taking some time to tap into your inner child and colour-in, with no expectations, can pretty much calm and soothe your mind, so that when you have finished, you return to the task at hand, feeling more centred, calm and with clarity.
Try it.
Below is a free colouring Muse Mantra Colouring Meditation for you from my book, hoping to be published later in the year.
Last year in France, the combined colouring-in industry sold 3.5m books.
According to the Mental Health Foundation, 59% of adults in Britain say they are more stressed today than they were five years ago.
Adult's are looking for a way to feel calm.
Colouring is a great way to switch off.
Soaring numbers of British adults have turned to colouring books in an effort to combat stress after it was proven that colouring in can help alleviate tension.
Colouring is something that most of us did as kids, as it helped us with various aspects of our development, including coordination and confidence.
Adults are now doing it for themselves!
So what has caused this newfound love among adults for colouring books?
If you put a piece of paper and a crayon in front of a child, they’ll start drawing, but as an adult you lose that spontaneity, colouring can help adults practise mindfulness, which, along with exercise, is recommended as a way to train the brain away from focusing on everyday worries.
It allows you to get absorbed in the moment. The benefits of mindfulness practice and meditation are well-documented, and many of the same benefits are experienced with colouring.
We are constantly bombarded with technology, you can download apps to your phone in a few seconds and sometimes, it’s too much for us to take in.
Colouring allows us to go back to a slower pace.
Yes!
Taking some time to tap into your inner child and colour-in, with no expectations, can pretty much calm and soothe your mind, so that when you have finished, you return to the task at hand, feeling more centred, calm and with clarity.
Try it.
Below is a free colouring Muse Mantra Colouring Meditation for you from my book, hoping to be published later in the year.
muse_mantra_colouring_meditation.pdf | |
File Size: | 291 kb |
File Type: |
Download and print this for your own personal use only, thanks so much, Julia x
Are you juggling dealing with something that's making you feel overwhelmed and overloaded?
Let's focus on 3 natural ways to de-stress on your doorstep.
Green Space
A daily dose of green space can really boost our health - and fast.
We hear of this all the time don't we, but do we 'really' add it into our 'Creative Healing Toolkit?'
Green Space doesn't mean you have to move to the forest or the heart of the country, grounding amongst grass and being side by side to trees is enough.
According to Matthew White, environmental psychologist, "just looking at green space lowers stress hormones and increases calming alpha waves in the brain."
So when was the last time you made a detour to take in some green space?
When did you stop and take yourself out to a local park, your garden, a small cove of trees?
Having a dog gives us an excuse to get access to green space - but what about getting access for yourself - at your pace, during your own timetable, without rushing?
How about going somewhere different rather than the same park or the same route.
We came across this term the other day called Forest Bathing - this is the Japanese inspired practice of woodland walking but with science and research behind it - Trees give off a protective chemical thought to lower blood pressure and reduce stress.
Interestingly Walk and Talk Therapy (counselling therapy and walking) is becoming more and more popular around the world.
Walk and Talk Therapy - you can read some of the benefits here in 'Taking Therapy Off The Couch'
Counsellors and psychotherapists who instead of seeing patients in a traditional office setting, combine walking with psychotherapy.
"It's very similar to traditional psychotherapy," one counsellor says, "except you are walking while you are talking about issues. I have found that bringing a little bit of movement enriches the counselling session. My clients are intrigued by the idea and are naturally drawn to being outside."
Let's focus on 3 natural ways to de-stress on your doorstep.
Green Space
A daily dose of green space can really boost our health - and fast.
We hear of this all the time don't we, but do we 'really' add it into our 'Creative Healing Toolkit?'
Green Space doesn't mean you have to move to the forest or the heart of the country, grounding amongst grass and being side by side to trees is enough.
According to Matthew White, environmental psychologist, "just looking at green space lowers stress hormones and increases calming alpha waves in the brain."
So when was the last time you made a detour to take in some green space?
When did you stop and take yourself out to a local park, your garden, a small cove of trees?
Having a dog gives us an excuse to get access to green space - but what about getting access for yourself - at your pace, during your own timetable, without rushing?
How about going somewhere different rather than the same park or the same route.
We came across this term the other day called Forest Bathing - this is the Japanese inspired practice of woodland walking but with science and research behind it - Trees give off a protective chemical thought to lower blood pressure and reduce stress.
Interestingly Walk and Talk Therapy (counselling therapy and walking) is becoming more and more popular around the world.
Walk and Talk Therapy - you can read some of the benefits here in 'Taking Therapy Off The Couch'
Counsellors and psychotherapists who instead of seeing patients in a traditional office setting, combine walking with psychotherapy.
"It's very similar to traditional psychotherapy," one counsellor says, "except you are walking while you are talking about issues. I have found that bringing a little bit of movement enriches the counselling session. My clients are intrigued by the idea and are naturally drawn to being outside."
So here are my 3 Ways to De-stress on your Doorstep.
1. Find a local park that you have never been to and go there.
Plant your feet in the grass.
No mobile phones allowed - take a book, a cup of tea and sit for 15 minutes.
If you'd like to walk barefoot in the grass, do it.
2. If finding time is a problem right now, then how about detouring to work via a different greener route, is that possible? Is there a park along the way that you could stop by and sit for 3 minutes to watch the leaves on the trees? If you can park near trees, lower down your window, close your eyes and absorb in their neutralising chemicals. Take 10 minutes out of your lunch time, before work, or after work to detour via a local park.
3. Find or Create a Walking Group - friendship, walking and green space is a gorgeous mix, why not seek out, or create a walking group of your own.
1. Find a local park that you have never been to and go there.
Plant your feet in the grass.
No mobile phones allowed - take a book, a cup of tea and sit for 15 minutes.
If you'd like to walk barefoot in the grass, do it.
2. If finding time is a problem right now, then how about detouring to work via a different greener route, is that possible? Is there a park along the way that you could stop by and sit for 3 minutes to watch the leaves on the trees? If you can park near trees, lower down your window, close your eyes and absorb in their neutralising chemicals. Take 10 minutes out of your lunch time, before work, or after work to detour via a local park.
3. Find or Create a Walking Group - friendship, walking and green space is a gorgeous mix, why not seek out, or create a walking group of your own.
We are drawn to people who possess qualities we admire.
When we see these qualities in others, our own inner compass responds - we begin to align with our true self.
Equally we are not drawn to people who's qualities we don't admire. Often when this happens, we are discovering a shadow part of ourselves that needs unravelling.
Take a moment to think about someone you admire. What qualities do you prize in them? Below the surface of physical attributes or possessions, which traits do you praise? Do you admire, courage, loyalty, creativity? Do you honour their compassion, or truthfulness?
As you're thinking about this person now, does your heart feel warm?
Your heart warms because these traits are inside of you too.
It's a challenge to appreciate a trait unless you have experienced it too.
In order to value loyalty, you must know what loyalty is. You must sense what it means to be dependable, steady, faithful, dedicated and you also know the pain of disloyalty.
You possess the possibility for a host of attributes or characteristics. When you see them in others, your heart lights up. When you yourself act in accordance with these qualities, you feel a sense of well-being, things feels aligned. You are acting with integrity. The qualities that you are demonstrating are the standards that are most important to you, the standards that express who you are.
Using the word Integrity simply defines "whole and complete, intact".
When you discover your Standards of Integrity you will begin to build a confident foundation of your own standards and begin to see them in others too.
When we see these qualities in others, our own inner compass responds - we begin to align with our true self.
Equally we are not drawn to people who's qualities we don't admire. Often when this happens, we are discovering a shadow part of ourselves that needs unravelling.
Take a moment to think about someone you admire. What qualities do you prize in them? Below the surface of physical attributes or possessions, which traits do you praise? Do you admire, courage, loyalty, creativity? Do you honour their compassion, or truthfulness?
As you're thinking about this person now, does your heart feel warm?
Your heart warms because these traits are inside of you too.
It's a challenge to appreciate a trait unless you have experienced it too.
In order to value loyalty, you must know what loyalty is. You must sense what it means to be dependable, steady, faithful, dedicated and you also know the pain of disloyalty.
You possess the possibility for a host of attributes or characteristics. When you see them in others, your heart lights up. When you yourself act in accordance with these qualities, you feel a sense of well-being, things feels aligned. You are acting with integrity. The qualities that you are demonstrating are the standards that are most important to you, the standards that express who you are.
Using the word Integrity simply defines "whole and complete, intact".
When you discover your Standards of Integrity you will begin to build a confident foundation of your own standards and begin to see them in others too.
This process will ask about 40 minutes of your time, which you can split into two x 20 minute sessions. This needs quiet time, so make sure you're not disturbed, get still and contemplative.
1. Take a clean page and on the left side list all the people who have qualities you admire. Write their names, using the check list below to spur your memory. Take your time and reach back into the past. the list of possibilities include:-
2. Survey down your list. Look at each name, starting with the first and working down. On the right side of the paper record the quality or trait you admire about that person. A quality is something that inspires you, such as loyal, intelligent, adventurous, courageous, creative, truthful etc.
Some of the attributes will be shared, but write them out again.
The list will be as long or as short as you like - there's no race to have the longest list, this is your own barometer.
3. When you have finished allocating qualities and traits to your list. Write all the qualities and traits down on a new page. If there are more than one, use Tick Marks next to it, to highlight where this has been noticed many times.
4. Now lets revisit this list. Take a new page and starting from the top, look at each trait. Spend a few moments contemplating each attribute. Ask yourself:-
Repeat this process until you have contemplated each word on your original list. You may find you have transferred all of them, or just a few. Quantity is not important, What matters is you will begin to see what touches you and makes you feel in alignment. If one or two other qualities occur at this point, write them down as well.
5. Take the new list and place it in front of you. Each trait has significant and meaning for you. Write them out on a small card (say 3 x 5 inch) and write at the top: "These are my Standards of Integrity" and write at the bottom " I know these are mine because I see them in others."
Keep this card with you and look at it often during this coming week.
What you have before you is a blueprint for your own personal power. You possess these qualities you listed, they are part of your nature.
You might want to share these standards with someone else who has done this exercise, or perhaps a close friend. Often it can be done together and you can gain some profound insights and understandings.
If you read over your Standards of Integrity, you really are describing your authentic nature. After a week of reading it daily to yourself, turn to your journal to see how this exercise has made you feel.
Record your observations about yourself in your journal. Work with them and see how you can let them in a little closer.
This is an adapted exercise taken from The Energy of Money by Maria Nemeth Phd
1. Take a clean page and on the left side list all the people who have qualities you admire. Write their names, using the check list below to spur your memory. Take your time and reach back into the past. the list of possibilities include:-
- Your family, such as your mother, father, sister, brother, aunt, uncle, grandfather, grandmother.
- School, such as teachers, principals, caretakers, classmates
- Religious teachers and leaders, ministers, priests, rabbis, sunday school teachers.
- Friends from school, work, home, social club or any other source.
- People in the healing professions, such as doctors, therapists, alternative medical professionals.
- Sports figures, whether from professional or amateur sports and the Olympics.
- World leaders, spiritual or political
- People in the arts and entertainment industry, such as actors, directors, singers, dancers, artists, musicians, and composers.
- Biblical figures, people important to your religion
- Mythological characters from Greek, Native American, East Indian, African, Egyptian or other cultures' myths.
- Anyone you have ever read about, whether real or fictional.
2. Survey down your list. Look at each name, starting with the first and working down. On the right side of the paper record the quality or trait you admire about that person. A quality is something that inspires you, such as loyal, intelligent, adventurous, courageous, creative, truthful etc.
Some of the attributes will be shared, but write them out again.
The list will be as long or as short as you like - there's no race to have the longest list, this is your own barometer.
3. When you have finished allocating qualities and traits to your list. Write all the qualities and traits down on a new page. If there are more than one, use Tick Marks next to it, to highlight where this has been noticed many times.
4. Now lets revisit this list. Take a new page and starting from the top, look at each trait. Spend a few moments contemplating each attribute. Ask yourself:-
- Does reading this word aloud, or to myself, warm my heart, if only for a moment?
- Do I like being in the presence of people who have this quality?
Repeat this process until you have contemplated each word on your original list. You may find you have transferred all of them, or just a few. Quantity is not important, What matters is you will begin to see what touches you and makes you feel in alignment. If one or two other qualities occur at this point, write them down as well.
5. Take the new list and place it in front of you. Each trait has significant and meaning for you. Write them out on a small card (say 3 x 5 inch) and write at the top: "These are my Standards of Integrity" and write at the bottom " I know these are mine because I see them in others."
Keep this card with you and look at it often during this coming week.
What you have before you is a blueprint for your own personal power. You possess these qualities you listed, they are part of your nature.
You might want to share these standards with someone else who has done this exercise, or perhaps a close friend. Often it can be done together and you can gain some profound insights and understandings.
If you read over your Standards of Integrity, you really are describing your authentic nature. After a week of reading it daily to yourself, turn to your journal to see how this exercise has made you feel.
Record your observations about yourself in your journal. Work with them and see how you can let them in a little closer.
This is an adapted exercise taken from The Energy of Money by Maria Nemeth Phd
Spring is a wonderful time to create new daily habits.
Habits that make you feel great.
Let's plant the seed and just look at 4 simple habits for spring that may inspire you.
Perhaps you can think of more for yourself but maybe these resonate with you?
1. All things have a place
It is true that all things have a place and picking things up does make us feel better and creates a good feeling around our environment. Is there somewhere in your home that you feel needs a daily habit?
Perhaps a plate for your keys where you know you'll always find them because this is where you always put them.
Hoovering every day may not be something that makes you dance a jig but clearing the space can be a great habit to form, as it putting clothes away every day after the washing has dried, or emptying the dishwasher, or setting a breakfast tray for the morning.
2. Choose Gratitude
You may think that 'Gratitude' is a buzz word and very popular, but it can change perspective quite quickly. If you're feeling out of sorts by a friend, colleague, or family member, one thing that can help is to sit down and make a list of everything that you appreciate about that person. You can then revisit that list whenever you need to.
At the end of every day, write down 5 things that you have been grateful for that day. This can be that the sun was shining, or the baby smiled at you in the supermarket, or your dog curled up close, or your cat purring on your heart, or your partner cooked dinner. You'll be pleasantly surprised. Find yourself a little notebook and keep it by your bedside.
3. Feed the water within.
We know the benefits of drinking water, and approx 70% of you is made up of water. Therefore your body needs to drink it, but it also loves to bathe in it or feel it in the shower.
The best habits are to shower daily, or even better, to bathe, create a practice around this and you will reap the benefits. Drinking 8 glasses of water a day is a great way to fuel your body, as when we're dehydrated we can feel hungry, tired, and very irritable. So always drink water before making a decision.
4. Plan Your Days
You may think only people who are successful plan their days - well, it's a great habit to begin and it's available for everyone.
Scheduling all aspects of your life into your diary, or your smart phone, will help you spend your time wisely but also factor in self care, which is HUGE for counsellors in training and qualified counsellors, plus anyone in the helping/healing/customer service professions.
We often forget ourselves, so scheduling and getting into a habit of looking at calendars and writing a to do list before bed so that you know what you need to do the following day. You can sleep without it going over and over in your mind.
Habits that make you feel great.
Let's plant the seed and just look at 4 simple habits for spring that may inspire you.
Perhaps you can think of more for yourself but maybe these resonate with you?
1. All things have a place
It is true that all things have a place and picking things up does make us feel better and creates a good feeling around our environment. Is there somewhere in your home that you feel needs a daily habit?
Perhaps a plate for your keys where you know you'll always find them because this is where you always put them.
Hoovering every day may not be something that makes you dance a jig but clearing the space can be a great habit to form, as it putting clothes away every day after the washing has dried, or emptying the dishwasher, or setting a breakfast tray for the morning.
2. Choose Gratitude
You may think that 'Gratitude' is a buzz word and very popular, but it can change perspective quite quickly. If you're feeling out of sorts by a friend, colleague, or family member, one thing that can help is to sit down and make a list of everything that you appreciate about that person. You can then revisit that list whenever you need to.
At the end of every day, write down 5 things that you have been grateful for that day. This can be that the sun was shining, or the baby smiled at you in the supermarket, or your dog curled up close, or your cat purring on your heart, or your partner cooked dinner. You'll be pleasantly surprised. Find yourself a little notebook and keep it by your bedside.
3. Feed the water within.
We know the benefits of drinking water, and approx 70% of you is made up of water. Therefore your body needs to drink it, but it also loves to bathe in it or feel it in the shower.
The best habits are to shower daily, or even better, to bathe, create a practice around this and you will reap the benefits. Drinking 8 glasses of water a day is a great way to fuel your body, as when we're dehydrated we can feel hungry, tired, and very irritable. So always drink water before making a decision.
4. Plan Your Days
You may think only people who are successful plan their days - well, it's a great habit to begin and it's available for everyone.
Scheduling all aspects of your life into your diary, or your smart phone, will help you spend your time wisely but also factor in self care, which is HUGE for counsellors in training and qualified counsellors, plus anyone in the helping/healing/customer service professions.
We often forget ourselves, so scheduling and getting into a habit of looking at calendars and writing a to do list before bed so that you know what you need to do the following day. You can sleep without it going over and over in your mind.
A Muse cares for her body
She bathes, she scrubs, she adorns.
She wears fabrics that feel delight full on her skin
She affirms positive words about her body
She feels the connection.
She eats foods that heal and help her digestion
She avoids those that create congestion.
A Muse nurtures her spirit and all other sentients
She connects to the harmonious side of life
She surrounds herself with daily sacredness
She delights in simplicity
She carries softness in her heart despite all she hears
She cares for all, two legs, four, fins or wings
A Muse feels sparkles of inspiration
She practices daily mindfulness
She seeks intellectual stimulation from those around her
She believes strongly in the power of positive collective thought and consciousness
She nurtures this in others and is keen to see love in all
A Muse feels the moves in her body
She knows to move is a way of breathing in life
She feels alive and connects to the planet
She chooses her boogie and dances
She stretches and plays, respecting her body as her temple
She owns her sacred dance
A Muse lets her heartbeat connect to the planet's vibration
As she joins in with her own prayer
For healing, for peace, for love, for all
She bathes, she scrubs, she adorns.
She wears fabrics that feel delight full on her skin
She affirms positive words about her body
She feels the connection.
She eats foods that heal and help her digestion
She avoids those that create congestion.
A Muse nurtures her spirit and all other sentients
She connects to the harmonious side of life
She surrounds herself with daily sacredness
She delights in simplicity
She carries softness in her heart despite all she hears
She cares for all, two legs, four, fins or wings
A Muse feels sparkles of inspiration
She practices daily mindfulness
She seeks intellectual stimulation from those around her
She believes strongly in the power of positive collective thought and consciousness
She nurtures this in others and is keen to see love in all
A Muse feels the moves in her body
She knows to move is a way of breathing in life
She feels alive and connects to the planet
She chooses her boogie and dances
She stretches and plays, respecting her body as her temple
She owns her sacred dance
A Muse lets her heartbeat connect to the planet's vibration
As she joins in with her own prayer
For healing, for peace, for love, for all
Despite our multiple screens and ever-connected lifestyles, are we officially a society who gets bored? If so, is that such a bad thing?
It can be a distressing feeling, being bored - some evidence suggest it places stress on the brain and is linked with anxiety, depression.
However, boredom isn't necessarily about having nothing to do.
If you're experiencing boredom in 2017 chances are the activities that are filling your schedule may be purely online and they just don't stimulate you.
Scrolling and swiping are fast-paced, passive activities and this when we start second-screening - watching TV and scrolling the net at the same time. But that makes things worse, because we're even less focused.
We don't need to quit technology altogether, we just need to understand how boredom manifests itself within us.
What one person find frustrating makes another feel calm and creative.
Here are 5 Benefits to Being Bored:
It can be a distressing feeling, being bored - some evidence suggest it places stress on the brain and is linked with anxiety, depression.
However, boredom isn't necessarily about having nothing to do.
If you're experiencing boredom in 2017 chances are the activities that are filling your schedule may be purely online and they just don't stimulate you.
Scrolling and swiping are fast-paced, passive activities and this when we start second-screening - watching TV and scrolling the net at the same time. But that makes things worse, because we're even less focused.
We don't need to quit technology altogether, we just need to understand how boredom manifests itself within us.
What one person find frustrating makes another feel calm and creative.
Here are 5 Benefits to Being Bored:
1. It can make you more creative.
Researchers believe that being bored can lead to some of our most original thoughts. They have found that boredom encourages people's minds to wander, leading them to more creative ways of thinking.
2. It lets you know when something is amiss.
When people's minds wander and they're not thinking about what's going on around them, they're more likely to think about the future,
In a process known as "autobiographical planning," people most frequently plan and anticipate their future goals while daydreaming.
3. It could help make you more productive.
By stimulating a region of the brain responsible for both "thought controlling" mechanisms and "thought freeing" activity — thereby increasing mind-wandering behaviour — researchers found that daydreaming doesn't harm one's ability to succeed at an appointed task, but rather helps it.
4. It can make you a better person.
European and American Researchers believe that boredom can lead us to do altruistic things.
In their studies they found that when we're bored, we lack perceived meaning in our activities and circumstances. This, they say, triggers us to search elsewhere to re-establish our self-meaning.
The researchers found that boredom made people more likely to engage in prosocial behaviours like donating to charity and signing up for blood donations to help re-establish feelings of self-meaning.
5. It could be essential to our happiness.
Though esteemed philosopher Bertrand Russell mused on the makings of a happy life nearly 90 years ago, his observations about the essential quality of our capacity for boredom seems just as apt today as ever:
"A life too full of excitement is an exhausting life, in which continually stronger stimuli are needed to give the thrill that has come to be thought an essential part of pleasure."
Researchers believe that being bored can lead to some of our most original thoughts. They have found that boredom encourages people's minds to wander, leading them to more creative ways of thinking.
2. It lets you know when something is amiss.
When people's minds wander and they're not thinking about what's going on around them, they're more likely to think about the future,
In a process known as "autobiographical planning," people most frequently plan and anticipate their future goals while daydreaming.
3. It could help make you more productive.
By stimulating a region of the brain responsible for both "thought controlling" mechanisms and "thought freeing" activity — thereby increasing mind-wandering behaviour — researchers found that daydreaming doesn't harm one's ability to succeed at an appointed task, but rather helps it.
4. It can make you a better person.
European and American Researchers believe that boredom can lead us to do altruistic things.
In their studies they found that when we're bored, we lack perceived meaning in our activities and circumstances. This, they say, triggers us to search elsewhere to re-establish our self-meaning.
The researchers found that boredom made people more likely to engage in prosocial behaviours like donating to charity and signing up for blood donations to help re-establish feelings of self-meaning.
5. It could be essential to our happiness.
Though esteemed philosopher Bertrand Russell mused on the makings of a happy life nearly 90 years ago, his observations about the essential quality of our capacity for boredom seems just as apt today as ever:
"A life too full of excitement is an exhausting life, in which continually stronger stimuli are needed to give the thrill that has come to be thought an essential part of pleasure."
What Is Stress?
Stress is your body's way of responding to any kind of demand. It can be caused by both good and bad experiences.
What Causes Stress?
Many different things can cause stress -- from physical (such as fear of something dangerous) to emotional (such as worry over your family or job, relationship, bereavement etc...)
Identifying what may be causing you stress is often the first step in learning how to better deal with your stress.
Some of the most common sources of stress are:
Survival Stress - You may have heard the phrase "fight or flight" before. This is a common response to danger in all people and animals. When you are afraid that someone or something may physically hurt you, your body naturally responds with a burst of energy so that you will be better able to survive the dangerous situation (fight) or escape it all together (flight). This is survival stress.
Internal Stress - If you catch yourself worrying about things you can do nothing about or worrying for no reason - then you are dealing with internal stress and it is one of the most important kinds of stress to understand and manage.
This often happens when we worry about things we can't control or put ourselves in situations we know will cause us stress.
Environmental Stress - This is a response to things around you that cause stress, such as noise, crowding, and pressure from work or family.
Identifying these environmental stresses and learning to avoid them or deal with them will help lower your stress level.
Fatigue and Overwork - This kind of stress builds up over a long time and can take a hard toll on your body. It can be caused by working too much or too hard at your job(s), study or at home.
It can also be caused by not knowing how to manage your time well or how to take time out for rest and relaxation.
This can be one of the hardest kinds of stress to avoid because many people feel this is out of their control.
Stress can affect both your body and your mind.
Stress is your body's way of responding to any kind of demand. It can be caused by both good and bad experiences.
What Causes Stress?
Many different things can cause stress -- from physical (such as fear of something dangerous) to emotional (such as worry over your family or job, relationship, bereavement etc...)
Identifying what may be causing you stress is often the first step in learning how to better deal with your stress.
Some of the most common sources of stress are:
Survival Stress - You may have heard the phrase "fight or flight" before. This is a common response to danger in all people and animals. When you are afraid that someone or something may physically hurt you, your body naturally responds with a burst of energy so that you will be better able to survive the dangerous situation (fight) or escape it all together (flight). This is survival stress.
Internal Stress - If you catch yourself worrying about things you can do nothing about or worrying for no reason - then you are dealing with internal stress and it is one of the most important kinds of stress to understand and manage.
This often happens when we worry about things we can't control or put ourselves in situations we know will cause us stress.
Environmental Stress - This is a response to things around you that cause stress, such as noise, crowding, and pressure from work or family.
Identifying these environmental stresses and learning to avoid them or deal with them will help lower your stress level.
Fatigue and Overwork - This kind of stress builds up over a long time and can take a hard toll on your body. It can be caused by working too much or too hard at your job(s), study or at home.
It can also be caused by not knowing how to manage your time well or how to take time out for rest and relaxation.
This can be one of the hardest kinds of stress to avoid because many people feel this is out of their control.
Stress can affect both your body and your mind.
What are your stress levels?
As you read these statements, think about the answer in terms of .......
Always, Sometimes or Never
If you have answered Always to 6 or more of these statements, then this may be a time to seek out support, perhaps first stop is to chat with your Doctor, it may be helpful to chat to them about your responses.
Perhaps you have asked a member of your family to answer these statements, it's important to encourage them to seek out someone to talk to i.e. their Doctor and not to continue to feeling this way.
As you read these statements, think about the answer in terms of .......
Always, Sometimes or Never
- I feel as if I don't have enough time in a week to get everything done.
- Having at least one healthy meal per day at which I can sit down and relax is unusual.
- I worry about money regularly.
- I have recently begun to smoke or drink more alcohol, or I have increased my use of either.
- I have more conflicts and disagreements with friends than I used to.
- I am having difficulty staying involved with social activities.
- I seem to get colds and other minor illnesses (headaches/upset stomachs) more frequently.
- I find myself confused or listless more than usual.
- I resent the time I have to spend with routine chores.
- My usual level of physical activity or exercise has decreased.
- I am losing or gaining weight.
- I seldom get six to eight hours of sleep a night.
- I am having difficulty staying in contact with friends and family.
- I seldom find time to confide in friends.
- Small problems seem overwhelming.
- I seldom find time to do some fun things each week.
- I find myself unable to meet deadlines and am losing track of details (appointments, chores, promises to friends etc.)
- I am more short tempered or more impatient than I used to be.
If you have answered Always to 6 or more of these statements, then this may be a time to seek out support, perhaps first stop is to chat with your Doctor, it may be helpful to chat to them about your responses.
Perhaps you have asked a member of your family to answer these statements, it's important to encourage them to seek out someone to talk to i.e. their Doctor and not to continue to feeling this way.
Self care can mean different things to everyone - the term is mentioned a great deal, what I like to refer to, is self compassion and self love.
This is relevant to anyone in this world, however more so, for those of you in the helping professions, where the whole premise of work is about giving, serving, healing.
Ain't it the truth that the self is often forgotten in this equation?
I decided to sit down and write my 7 step self care manifesto.
***
Step 1: Stop criticising yourself.
There is a tremendous need to build self worth and value in ourselves because we often feel niggling doubts of 'not good enough.' We procrastinate when things would benefit us or we mistreat ourselves by not eating food that we know will make us feel good.
We are not perfect and nor do we need to be.
This is the first step in self caring and self compassion.
Having to 'be perfect' puts immense pressure on ourself and it prevents us from looking at areas of our lives that need soothing.
***
Step 2: Be gentle and patient with yourself.
Patience is something we often 'think' we have but in reality, we want what we want and we want it right now! So become aware of that feeling of wanting something to happen yesterday.
It takes time, lovely.
Think about how your garden grows from bleakness of winter to slowly sprouting shoots in spring. Take notice that there's no rush, there's no competition between the shoots, they all seek warmth and light, all at different paces, but they don't berate themselves or stop growing.
***
Step 3: Be kind to your mind.
Let's not blame ourselves for negative experiences - don't carry that blame around with you as extra baggage - easier said than done, but it's a good idea to have an awareness of being kinder to your mind.
How can we be kind to our mind?
By relaxing it, in meditation, by clearing and developing daily practices.
This allows your mind to take a small rest, with some deep breaths, close your eyes and release whatever tension you are carrying with you.
Meditation can be used here, but all we are suggesting is taking some time to find white space for your mind.
Setting the time aside is the first step, sitting still is the second step and repeating the mantra, So Hum Namah, or C-A-L-M, or Being Still.
This is relevant to anyone in this world, however more so, for those of you in the helping professions, where the whole premise of work is about giving, serving, healing.
Ain't it the truth that the self is often forgotten in this equation?
I decided to sit down and write my 7 step self care manifesto.
***
Step 1: Stop criticising yourself.
There is a tremendous need to build self worth and value in ourselves because we often feel niggling doubts of 'not good enough.' We procrastinate when things would benefit us or we mistreat ourselves by not eating food that we know will make us feel good.
We are not perfect and nor do we need to be.
This is the first step in self caring and self compassion.
Having to 'be perfect' puts immense pressure on ourself and it prevents us from looking at areas of our lives that need soothing.
***
Step 2: Be gentle and patient with yourself.
Patience is something we often 'think' we have but in reality, we want what we want and we want it right now! So become aware of that feeling of wanting something to happen yesterday.
It takes time, lovely.
Think about how your garden grows from bleakness of winter to slowly sprouting shoots in spring. Take notice that there's no rush, there's no competition between the shoots, they all seek warmth and light, all at different paces, but they don't berate themselves or stop growing.
***
Step 3: Be kind to your mind.
Let's not blame ourselves for negative experiences - don't carry that blame around with you as extra baggage - easier said than done, but it's a good idea to have an awareness of being kinder to your mind.
How can we be kind to our mind?
By relaxing it, in meditation, by clearing and developing daily practices.
This allows your mind to take a small rest, with some deep breaths, close your eyes and release whatever tension you are carrying with you.
Meditation can be used here, but all we are suggesting is taking some time to find white space for your mind.
Setting the time aside is the first step, sitting still is the second step and repeating the mantra, So Hum Namah, or C-A-L-M, or Being Still.
Step 4: Praise yourself.
When we criticise ourselves, little by little, it takes over.
Criticism breaks down our inner spark but did you know that Praise builds it up.
When you reprimand yourself you belittle your own power.
Begin with little things - one of the best bits of advice I received about 6 years ago when I in that transnational phase of redundancy, a business coach invited me to keep a journal JUST FOR PRAISE. Things people said to me and things that I felt I had accomplished.
I began... when I read over what I wrote, it helps me remember the good stuff.
Allow yourself to accept this praise (from yourself).
***
Step 5: Loving yourself means "supporting yourself"
Reach out to friends/family and allow them to help you if feel you need it.
Asking for support is a strength.
Supporting yourself is about factoring in time for yourself, doing things that you love, that light you up and nurture your heart, soul and body.
Write a list of what you need from yourself, the small and the large and the in-between.
That's all you need to do for Step 5, believe that you deserve the support.
***
Step 6: Take care of your body.
This is a vital step to consider. One that I have always had a challenge with as I have had quite a inconsistent relationship with my body.
However, what I learn and, I take every day as a new day, is:-
it's crucial to acknowledge your body as the vessel to get you through life
Yes.
Often we give our body a beating by not going to bed when it is urging us to, or ploughing on when we know we need to drink some water or even waiting to eat when we haven't eaten for ages. Maybe even, stuffing ourselves with food to numb a particular feeling.
Become aware of the steps you do to take care of your body.
AND
Make a list, put it somewhere visible and start taking care.
(can you tell I love lists!)
Step 7: Right now, tell yourself 'I Love you.'
Don't wait for changes to happen to love yourself right now for whom you are.
Feeling dissatisfied with yourself eats away at your inner reserves.
Don't wait until 'everything' is right.
Use the energy you would normally reserve for criticism and negativity and fuel it into loving yourself right now, just as you are.
Begin here.
When we criticise ourselves, little by little, it takes over.
Criticism breaks down our inner spark but did you know that Praise builds it up.
When you reprimand yourself you belittle your own power.
Begin with little things - one of the best bits of advice I received about 6 years ago when I in that transnational phase of redundancy, a business coach invited me to keep a journal JUST FOR PRAISE. Things people said to me and things that I felt I had accomplished.
I began... when I read over what I wrote, it helps me remember the good stuff.
Allow yourself to accept this praise (from yourself).
***
Step 5: Loving yourself means "supporting yourself"
Reach out to friends/family and allow them to help you if feel you need it.
Asking for support is a strength.
Supporting yourself is about factoring in time for yourself, doing things that you love, that light you up and nurture your heart, soul and body.
Write a list of what you need from yourself, the small and the large and the in-between.
That's all you need to do for Step 5, believe that you deserve the support.
***
Step 6: Take care of your body.
This is a vital step to consider. One that I have always had a challenge with as I have had quite a inconsistent relationship with my body.
However, what I learn and, I take every day as a new day, is:-
it's crucial to acknowledge your body as the vessel to get you through life
Yes.
Often we give our body a beating by not going to bed when it is urging us to, or ploughing on when we know we need to drink some water or even waiting to eat when we haven't eaten for ages. Maybe even, stuffing ourselves with food to numb a particular feeling.
Become aware of the steps you do to take care of your body.
AND
Make a list, put it somewhere visible and start taking care.
(can you tell I love lists!)
Step 7: Right now, tell yourself 'I Love you.'
Don't wait for changes to happen to love yourself right now for whom you are.
Feeling dissatisfied with yourself eats away at your inner reserves.
Don't wait until 'everything' is right.
Use the energy you would normally reserve for criticism and negativity and fuel it into loving yourself right now, just as you are.
Begin here.
I was commissioned to draw Barry's Muse Mantra. (What's a Muse Mantra, I hear you ask?! - you can find out here.)
Receiving Reiki is relaxing, soothing, calming and wonderful for releasing stress. Add to this your own Muse Mantra to anchor and what you get .... is truly magical. (if you're new here, watch this short video that explains Muse Mantras.)
I love that men are stepping forward and I would love to encourage you to gift this healing to a male in your life.
Barry wrote me this below and I feel it's written for you. Thank you Dear Man. Very blessed to have met you.
Receiving Reiki is relaxing, soothing, calming and wonderful for releasing stress. Add to this your own Muse Mantra to anchor and what you get .... is truly magical. (if you're new here, watch this short video that explains Muse Mantras.)
I love that men are stepping forward and I would love to encourage you to gift this healing to a male in your life.
Barry wrote me this below and I feel it's written for you. Thank you Dear Man. Very blessed to have met you.
****
Dear You
When I first asked Julia if I could participate in the process of producing my Healing Muse Portrait I wasn't sure what it meant for me.
As the process began and Julia updated me, something changed.
I have been on my path many years now and sometimes we come to a crossroads or lose sight of what we first set out to do.
I had reached this place but I began to feel a sense of warmth and change.
My mind began to clear and I was able to see my vision again.
At that time I was not sure where the process was up to.
It's only now that I came to understand that the woven healing in my portrait was taking place.
When I first viewed the first images, I felt that warmth, that healing washing over me.
It was so powerful I had to take several hours to take it all in.
After a while I was able to send my feelings to Julia. We had connected in such a healing way.
I would encourage all people, more men especially, to take part in this process.
Open your heart and soul to the total experience.
Feel the healing begin and let it flow through you.
Relax your thoughts and be accepting of the love and healing that will open up your mind and heart.
The art is the bonus you get to keep, to remind you of your journey, to look at and remind yourself of the light and power you possess.
Julia will help you discover it.
Dear You
When I first asked Julia if I could participate in the process of producing my Healing Muse Portrait I wasn't sure what it meant for me.
As the process began and Julia updated me, something changed.
I have been on my path many years now and sometimes we come to a crossroads or lose sight of what we first set out to do.
I had reached this place but I began to feel a sense of warmth and change.
My mind began to clear and I was able to see my vision again.
At that time I was not sure where the process was up to.
It's only now that I came to understand that the woven healing in my portrait was taking place.
When I first viewed the first images, I felt that warmth, that healing washing over me.
It was so powerful I had to take several hours to take it all in.
After a while I was able to send my feelings to Julia. We had connected in such a healing way.
I would encourage all people, more men especially, to take part in this process.
Open your heart and soul to the total experience.
Feel the healing begin and let it flow through you.
Relax your thoughts and be accepting of the love and healing that will open up your mind and heart.
The art is the bonus you get to keep, to remind you of your journey, to look at and remind yourself of the light and power you possess.
Julia will help you discover it.
I also created a video of the entire drawing from start to finish.
Disclaimer - this is a test so open-ended it may give you food for thought, or a moment's amusement!
I was introduced to this test about 20 years ago by a psychotherapist I was seeing - it really interested me. This past week I stumbled across it again and I thought I'd share it here because, well, it's a bit of fun, but also there's lots of room for discussion and reflection!
The Drawing Completion Test is actually called 'The Wartegg Drawing Completion Test' devised by Austro-German psychologist Ehrig Wartegg in 1934. It's a a projective drawing test developed to reveal aspects of personality for diagnostic analysis which he developed within the *Gestalt psychological tradition in Leipzig, Germany. (Gestalt is a philosophy of mind of the Berlin School of experimental psychology. Gestalt psychology is an attempt to understand the laws behind the ability to acquire and maintain meaningful perceptions in an apparently chaotic world.)
Like other projective drawing tests, his test is based on the assumption that the content and the qualitative aspects of the drawings reflect the personality of the person drawing.
Can this really be so?
Let's find out.
As you can see from the image each section has a series of lines and shapes.
Here's what to do now:
There are no rules, just draw, doodle, complete each section.
When you're happy with what you've done. Scroll down and read the symbolism of each area.
I was introduced to this test about 20 years ago by a psychotherapist I was seeing - it really interested me. This past week I stumbled across it again and I thought I'd share it here because, well, it's a bit of fun, but also there's lots of room for discussion and reflection!
The Drawing Completion Test is actually called 'The Wartegg Drawing Completion Test' devised by Austro-German psychologist Ehrig Wartegg in 1934. It's a a projective drawing test developed to reveal aspects of personality for diagnostic analysis which he developed within the *Gestalt psychological tradition in Leipzig, Germany. (Gestalt is a philosophy of mind of the Berlin School of experimental psychology. Gestalt psychology is an attempt to understand the laws behind the ability to acquire and maintain meaningful perceptions in an apparently chaotic world.)
Like other projective drawing tests, his test is based on the assumption that the content and the qualitative aspects of the drawings reflect the personality of the person drawing.
Can this really be so?
Let's find out.
As you can see from the image each section has a series of lines and shapes.
Here's what to do now:
- Take a blank piece of A4 paper
- Using a thick marker pen, divide into 6 sections
- Copy the lines and/or shapes in each section.
- Then take some time quietly to draw a picture in each of the six divisions on the paper,
- Do try to incorporate the lines and shapes already there in five of them.
- In the blank square, draw anything you like.
There are no rules, just draw, doodle, complete each section.
When you're happy with what you've done. Scroll down and read the symbolism of each area.
DO NOT READ the interpretative texts below until you have completed your drawings.
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WAVY LINE: this motif has to do with your emotional life. Are you floating on or above the waves, or are you sinking below them? Did you see and project something else altogether?
CORNER SQUARE: the square is an architectural unit; your response here relates to your feelings about your house/home or garden. These may have implications with regards to aspects of your identity.
CIRCLE: this drawing relates to your sense of self. You may have been assertive or tentative (drawn a face, coloured in the circle etc) or you may have suggested that there are pressures from outside the circle of your self. You may happily have seen yourself as a beaming sun or a flower.
CUT OFF CORNER: this will reveal how you relate to your friends, who are at once part of you and separate from you.
TWO LINES: the two lines stand for the inescapable dualism of the universe, especially the duality of sex. You may have just revealed your deepest feelings about love (on the other hand, you may not.)
BLANK SPACE: your whole life is revealed in this space. Without prompt or guideline you have revealed your innermost self.
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WAVY LINE: this motif has to do with your emotional life. Are you floating on or above the waves, or are you sinking below them? Did you see and project something else altogether?
CORNER SQUARE: the square is an architectural unit; your response here relates to your feelings about your house/home or garden. These may have implications with regards to aspects of your identity.
CIRCLE: this drawing relates to your sense of self. You may have been assertive or tentative (drawn a face, coloured in the circle etc) or you may have suggested that there are pressures from outside the circle of your self. You may happily have seen yourself as a beaming sun or a flower.
CUT OFF CORNER: this will reveal how you relate to your friends, who are at once part of you and separate from you.
TWO LINES: the two lines stand for the inescapable dualism of the universe, especially the duality of sex. You may have just revealed your deepest feelings about love (on the other hand, you may not.)
BLANK SPACE: your whole life is revealed in this space. Without prompt or guideline you have revealed your innermost self.
How can you tell if you're actively listening with your husband, wife, partner, girlfriend, boyfriend, family member, work colleague, customer or client?
How can you tell if you're actively listening to YOURSELF?
Are you actually hearing the meaning behind your own words and also the words that 'they' are speaking to you.
If we are feeling that others are not listening to us, sometimes we are not listening to ourselves and that's the first place to start.
Truly Listening.
Listening to the music behind the words that you're using.
Below there are 18 statements, for each statement, write down whether you consider it to be True (T) or False (F).
_______ 1. Most people are brought up to be good listeners.
_______ 2. People's thoughts can interfere with their listening.
_______ 3. Listening is a natural activity.
_______ 4. To be able to listen to others, people need to be able to listen to themselves.
_______ 5. Being a good listener never requires self-discipline.
_______ 6. People may resist listening to others who blame and get angry with them.
_______ 7. People are more likely to talk to people with whom they feel safe and accepted than with those whom they do not.
_______ 8. It is always up to other people to communicate precisely what they want.
_______ 9. People who have something that they can't wait to say, listen well.
_______ 10. Some people listen too much because they're afraid of revealing themselves.
_______ 11. An important aspect in developing trust is listening and keeping confidences.
_______ 12. Talking is more important than listening in interpersonal communication.
_______ 13. The amount people reveal about themselves is likely to influence the amount others tell them about themselves.
_______ 14. Fatigue never affects the quality of people's listening.
_______ 15. People who feel very emotional about issues are good listeners.
_______ 16. Listening to others does not involve paying attention to their voice quality and body language as well as what they say.
_______ 17. People who are very angry are rarely good listeners.
_______ 18. People sometimes send mixed messages which are difficult for the listener to understand.
How did that feel? What did you discover about a) your own listening skills and b) how you listen to yourself?
Why not take this to your Journal and explore s'more?
This is something that is coming up in client sessions a great deal, there seems to be a theme running through here - are we listening to ourselves, to our bodies, to our spirit self. Are we hearing the nudges? From experience, listening to ourselves is just as important as listening to others, especially if you're working in the helping/healing professions.
How can you tell if you're actively listening to YOURSELF?
Are you actually hearing the meaning behind your own words and also the words that 'they' are speaking to you.
If we are feeling that others are not listening to us, sometimes we are not listening to ourselves and that's the first place to start.
Truly Listening.
Listening to the music behind the words that you're using.
Below there are 18 statements, for each statement, write down whether you consider it to be True (T) or False (F).
_______ 1. Most people are brought up to be good listeners.
_______ 2. People's thoughts can interfere with their listening.
_______ 3. Listening is a natural activity.
_______ 4. To be able to listen to others, people need to be able to listen to themselves.
_______ 5. Being a good listener never requires self-discipline.
_______ 6. People may resist listening to others who blame and get angry with them.
_______ 7. People are more likely to talk to people with whom they feel safe and accepted than with those whom they do not.
_______ 8. It is always up to other people to communicate precisely what they want.
_______ 9. People who have something that they can't wait to say, listen well.
_______ 10. Some people listen too much because they're afraid of revealing themselves.
_______ 11. An important aspect in developing trust is listening and keeping confidences.
_______ 12. Talking is more important than listening in interpersonal communication.
_______ 13. The amount people reveal about themselves is likely to influence the amount others tell them about themselves.
_______ 14. Fatigue never affects the quality of people's listening.
_______ 15. People who feel very emotional about issues are good listeners.
_______ 16. Listening to others does not involve paying attention to their voice quality and body language as well as what they say.
_______ 17. People who are very angry are rarely good listeners.
_______ 18. People sometimes send mixed messages which are difficult for the listener to understand.
How did that feel? What did you discover about a) your own listening skills and b) how you listen to yourself?
Why not take this to your Journal and explore s'more?
This is something that is coming up in client sessions a great deal, there seems to be a theme running through here - are we listening to ourselves, to our bodies, to our spirit self. Are we hearing the nudges? From experience, listening to ourselves is just as important as listening to others, especially if you're working in the helping/healing professions.